


i'd travel across time and space for you

by computedwings280



Series: I'd travel.. [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Time Travel, Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, Fluff, Keith & Pidge | Katie Holt Friendship, Keith centric, M/M, Time Travel, but the other characters are a big fixture, cmon ppl use the tag here too!, even chapters are kind of filler, got some, klance is established in the future but not the past, mentioned hunk/shay - Freeform, odd chapters are plot driven, safeklance, slight angst, they're good friends yall
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-08
Updated: 2018-02-10
Packaged: 2019-01-10 12:57:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 26,898
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12299703
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/computedwings280/pseuds/computedwings280
Summary: “Honestly I don’t know what this even is..? Some.. Box? I.. I’m going to scan it and if it’s okay I’ll bring it back for Pidge and Hunk to get a look at,” he said idly. It was the last thing that Lance heard from Keith before he let out a loud yelp into the comms, and it all went to static. Lance was kicked into high alert.“You have to be shitting me."---In which Keith is swapped with his much younger self and has to find a way to reverse what has been done.





	1. keith rushes in

**Author's Note:**

> so i really really love all the like "time travel" fics where lance switch places with his younger self but i wanted one where it was keith who that happens to :0c klance is established in the future (which is like roughly ten years ahead of the other timeline) this is like cannon divergent too i guess. I'm writing this before season 4 comes out and it's set some time after the lion swap. im not sure like where and like what's going on but they've got enough time to go on a bit of a detour and get keith in the right timeline.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> update: hey so i drew some art of what older!keith and lance looked like so [go check it out!](https://greyvolpe.tumblr.com/post/170348531100/old-art-i-never-posted-for-my-klance-fic-ft-older)

"Lance watch my six," Keith shouted over the sound of blaster fire. "I'm heading in."  
Lance grunted in affirmation as he let out a few more shots, each one hitting its target with deadly accuracy. He turned to see Keith starting off towards the mouth of the cave at a light jog. 

"Be careful. We still don't know what's in there," he said, switching over to the comms as Keith got further away. His voice took on a softer, more worried quality. 

"Yeah yeah, just keep an eye out. I'll be back before you know it," Keith huffed into the mic. 

There was, thankfully, no enemies in sight after a moment. Lance grinned a bit. Sure they were busy on a mission, but that never stopped Lance from talking. He was silently thankful for the closed comm systems, not so fondly recalling times with open comms. 

"Hey, so I was thinking.." Lance trailed off, waiting for a response from Keith to know that he was listening. 

"That's dangerous," Keith teased between huffs of breath as his mic came on.  

Lance rolled his eyes playfully even though Keith couldn't see. His smile never left his features. "Like I was saying.. I was thinking maybe after debriefing and dinner with everyone, we have some time to ourselves..?" 

Keith huffed out a laugh. Lance could hear the smile in his voice as he spoke. "Well we are right now. Don't you miss Hunk and Pidge? They were off on their mission before we left the castleship."

"I mean of course I miss them. Also hey-! This isn't the same. I don't count being under enemy fire while we retrieve some items and go after an unknown  _ thing- _ which by the way I don't fully approve of- as alone time."

Keith let out a light laugh. "Alright alright.." He made a small surprised noise. "Almost there.. But so have anything in mind for tonight,  _ Love?” _ Lance pleasantly flushed at the pet name even if Keith said it in a joking manner. 

“I was thinking you, me, and a nice- _ shit _ hold on more sentries heading this way.” Lance cursed again, and there was the sound of blaster fire. Lance piped up again after a moment. “Hey, how much longer you think you have in there because I don’t know if I’ll be able to hold all of these guys off by myself for too much longer.”

Keith scowled not liking the sound of that. He’d turn back but he was nearly on top of whatever was causing the signal they picked up when they landed on the planet. “Just give me 5,” he grunted out. Lance let that be and continued to fire at the sentries. He idly listened for anything from Keith as he concentrated. As time ticked by, Keith called out to Lance again. 

“Honestly I don’t know what this even is..? Some.. Box? I.. I’m going to scan it and if it’s okay I’ll bring it back for Pidge and Hunk to get a look at,” he said idly. It was the last thing that Lance heard from Keith before he let out a loud yelp into the comms, and it all went to static. Lance was kicked into high alert.

“You have to be shitting me,” he spat out as he shot down the last few sentries in his line of sight. Hoping he didn’t get caught from behind, Lance quickly turned on his heel and headed down into the mouth of the cave. If he wasn’t so worried about Keith’s reckless ass, he’d be cursing him out on the comms even with the static going. Lance flipped the controls so he was connected to the team wide channel. 

“I’m having some issues. Keith went into this place alone, and all I’m getting on the comm is static from him. I’m heading in and may need backup.”

* * *

Keith woke with a groan. A migraine had clearly set in and whatever.. Well whatever had happened with that device clearly caused him this distress. It was no surprise, but migraines were never something that he welcomed. As he began to become more aware of his surroundings, Keith took note that he was in bed.

‘Huh, must have been not bad enough to put me in a pod?’

Keith sat up, hissing at the stiffness of his muscles and the way his head throbbed with each movement. As the sheets fell down around him he took note of another thing: he was still wearing his paladin armor. Quickly his eyes darted from the banged up armor to the room. The walls were bare. There was no sign that it was even really lived in. More importantly there was no sign of Lance. He quickly reached out a hand and materialized his bayard out of caution. Carefully Keith got out of bed, slowly moving the sheets away. 

Something seems terribly wrong. 

Keith didn’t dare call out to the others yet. For all he knows this could possibly not even be the castleship.When he made it into the hall, Keith took note that you looks just like the hall he travels down every night. Despite that familiarity he pressed on, heading towards the more inhabited places of the castle. 

It was eerily quiet, something at times Keith wouldn’t bat an eye at, yet in this moment it was undeniably unsettling. The only noise was the gentle thrum of the castle’s thrusters. Despite his unease, Keith pressed on. 

* * *

 

Keith carefully peered around the corner into the dining hall. His eyes swept the room over and, ah, bingo. There was someone else. Someone familiar yet-

“Pidge?” The form that was slumped over a keyboard sat up, pushing their glasses back onto their face. 

“Well you’re up early.. Also what’s with your voice you-...” Pidge paused as she looked over at him. Her face screwed up in confusion. “Why are you wearing your armor..?”

Keith took up the defence, stepping fully into the doorway and holding up his bayard. This is wrong. This is so so wrong. This..  _ Pidge _ was much too young to be the real Pidge. It was almost like he stepped right back into the past which, to him, was ridiculous. Sure the whole alternate realities is a thing but-but come on getting shot into the past?? It’s more likely that he was knocked out and this is some mind trick.. And if that’s so then Lance must be in trouble. 

“Hey, what the hell is the big idea-” Keith ignored this Pidge and switched the comms on.

“Lance?.. Lance do you copy?” Just static. “Lance I swear if you’re just messing with me, I’m kicking you out of the room tonight,” he hissed into his mic, eyes never leaving Pidge who now shot up out of her seat. Still he just got static. He left the comm connection on just in case he’d get a response. 

He softly cursed and took a step towards Pidge. “Alright I don’t know who you are, but this is a pretty fucking sick trick to play on me. You know if you guys really wanted to get me you’d, I don’t know, try to at least look like my family? You can drop the act. Lets just get to business.”

Pidge gave him another look and took a slight step back. “What the hell are you talking about, Keith. Have you gone fucking  _ insane?”  _ Her hand flew to her hip, and she brought up her bayard. “Don’t move a step closer,” she ground out.

They had a bit of a stare down. That was until another person walked into the room. 

Keith’s ears were ringing and the lighting in here was too much and, shit, it was all too much to think of with a migraine raging on. He didn’t even bother to see who it was before bringing his free hand to his sword. When he pulled it away, his bayard transformed again. This time he was dual wielding much slimmer swords. Whoever just entered made a startled noise. 

“Stay back,” Keith ground out. His vision went a bit blurry and before he could do anything his bayard reverted back to its original state as he fainted. 

* * *

 

“--perfect DNA match.”

“-- but he’s missing and--”

“It can’t be Keith.”

“--another missing black paladin-”

The muffled voices and stilted conversations could be faintly heard from inside the healing pod as Keith began waking in stages. Quickly the front dematerialized. Keith slumped forward, awake enough to register the started noises of the others but not enough to fully regain function of his limbs. He fell into someone’s warm embrace. 

“Woah, he’s a lot bigger,” the warm body muttered. 

_ Lance. _

Keith leaned further into his embrace. It wasn’t nearly as solid or as tall as he was used to, but in this foggy state of mind he didn’t notice nor care. All that he cared about was being closer to Lance. 

Keith hummed contently. “I had the weirdest dream in the pod,” he mumbled and did his best to wrap his arms around Lance’s form. “I was in some.. Trap? But it, mmm, seemed like the past.”

Lance went rod stiff at Keith’s cuddly affection, face flushing a bright red. 

“U-Uhm hey there buddy, I think you got the wrong person..?” 

Keith tried to blink away that medically induced drowsiness. He wobbly pushed a bit away from Lance to look at him. He tried to stand up straight and rather than looking up at Lance like usual, he was looking slightly down on him. “..Lance?” He scowled a bit. Oh no his dream was.. Is it still going? Is.. Is it  _ not _ a dream??

He continued to scowl and inspect this Lance. He was hoping maybe.. Maybe he was just seeing things, but… But his hair was different and-

“You look so young.. And your scars are gone,” He said, hand shooting out to brush along his jawline. Lance looked startled and pulled further away from Keith with wide eyes and a flushed face. 

“W-Woah there.. Personal space haha..”

Keith felt like he was going to be sick. Was he still stuck in some twisted mindscape again? Where was his team-his family? Keith quickly backed up, closer to the pod as he looked at the others. All of them were so young and rather untouched looking. Yeah he was going to be sick..

“Why don’t we get you a seat and something to eat and drink,” Shiro spoke up. He looked concerned. And oh.. Oh, he was so young too. He was probably about Keith’s age from the looks of it. 

Keith swayed on his feet, and Coran rushed in to lead him to the dining hall once again. He seemed a bit uneasy for a brief moment before he was back to his usual manners. Coran joked a bit and sat Keith down before grabbing him some water and a bowl of food goo. 

Keith was frozen for a moment and the others lingered around him. Slowly he began eating and nursing the water as he went. He tried not to think too hard. He felt the edges of a headache returning, and that was the last thing he wanted on top of this all. Eventually he caught onto the daggers Allura was shooting his way. 

“What?” His voice held no malice. He was just unbelievably tired sounding. 

“He must be a Galra spy,” she said shortly, not addressing Keith but the others. 

“But the results said it’s 100% Keith,” Hunk said wearily. 

Pidge huffed. “Yeah and I mean didn’t he just mention something about being in the past? I mean he was acting like I was putting on some act and looking like myself but.. Not? Maybe he’s from the future and is just really confused about it..?”

Keith groaned, dropping his spoonful of goo back into the bowl. “You’re doing that thing where you talk about me when I’m still in the room.” His tone held some fondness to it, and once the words left his mouth he looked a bit uneasy again. 

There was silence for a beat before this time Lance spoke up. “I mean we’ve been into an alternate reality.. Is it really that far fetched to say that he’s from the future..? Maybe.. Maybe that’s also what happened to our Keith...? Maybe he’s switched places with this one..?”

The others seemed to think on this, and, finally, Shiro spoke up with a heavy sigh. “From the future or not lets.. Lets just let Keith get his bearings and then ask some questions.” He looked over to Keith who just gave curt nod before going back to eating. 

* * *

 

Keith pushed his bowl away with a sigh. “Could you all maybe.. Sit down? It’s a bit overwhelming being crowded like this.” 

With one look from Shiro the others found a seat at the table that Keith was heading. Keith wasn’t exactly ready nor looking forward to this interrogation and decided he’d just let them know what he knows right off the bat. 

“Alright look.. The last thing I recall I was out on a mission with Lance on Thurn B1. We were supposed to go in and grab some stuff from the Galra base there and get out. Easy enough. I, uh.. Well I picked up an unknown signal on the planet. It wasn’t too far from the base that we were to infiltrate and so I decided to check it out. Lance was on lookout since I had to run into this cave… Anyway I found this sort of.. Well honestly I can’t even remember what it looked like, but I found this item and when I touched it I-... well next thing I know I turn up in bed in a room I don’t recognize and that’s all.”

Hunk looked a bit confused. “Do you not stay on the castleship?”

Keith gave him a bit of a look. “Of course I do. We all do.”

“Then why didn’t you recognize the room..?”

Keith opened his mouth to speak and shut it for a moment before looking a bit somber. His gaze flicked over to Lance. “We’ve gathered a lot of things over the years, and I guess I’m just used to the clutter of things.” The others nodded in a bit of understanding.

“I do hope you understand that we must ask you a few personal questions to ensure that you’re truly who you claim to be,”Allura said and tilted her chin up some. 

Keith just nodded along. “Fully understandable.”

“Great. Then we shall begin.”

* * *

 

Keith was never fond of interrogations. He found them exhausting on either side of things. It was grueling and full of memories that he rather let lie. In the end, though, he gained the trust of the others and was painfully aware he was far from home at least time wise. On top of it all, the others had many more questions regarding the future. The four of them, Allura, Coran, Shiro and himself, deemed the possibility of sharing too much information about the future could be detrimental, even if this was a case of breaching into an alternate reality. 

“Okay but seriously I don’t see how it was severely alter the future if I find out if and who I end up with,” Lance said with a huff. 

Keith looked fond for a moment and sighed. “Look.. I’ll let you know that you do end up with someone some point in the future, but I won’t let you know how long it lasts or who it’s with. That kind of information could change things,” he said simply hoping it will be satisfying enough of an answer. Lance seemed to perk up some at that and began gloating a bit. Keith is reminded of when they got engaged, and Lance would constantly remind the others. 

* * *

 

_ “Lance could you give me a hand with this,” Allura spoke from across the control room. Lance threw her a wide grin and hopped up from his spot.  _

_ “Of course Princess,” he purred as he walked over. “I’ll give you my hand.. With my engagement ring on it! Look at it!” He squealed flashing the ring at Allura. She sighed and gave Lance a bit of a tired look.  _

_ “Yes Lance. I’m happy for you two but I would  _ really  _ appreciate it if you could maybe  _ help me out _!” _

_ ~ _

_ Lance was lounging beside Pidge waiting for his turn on the game system.  _

_ “You know what’s better than my skills at this game?” _

_ “Anything because you suck..?” Lance huffed at that.  _

_ “No, really that was  _ rude _ Pidgey. Anyway ignoring  _ that _.. What’s better is being engaged,” he said and reached his hand out in front of Pidge’s face to show off his ring. She let out a shout and tried to shove his hand away but it was too late. Her player died.  _

_ “Asshole.” _

* * *

 

At the wave of memories, Keith’s hand moved up to feel for the necklace he wore with his engagement ring looped through it. It was missing. 

“Where’s my stuff,” his voice sounded clipped, and Lance stopped in his gloating, looking slightly concerned. Coran pulled at his mustache and nodded. 

“Ah, I set it aside when we got you into a pod. Don’t worry you’ll be able to get it after.” With that settled, though Keith felt a bit off kilter without the ring to ground him, they laughed right into another set of questions. 

“How’d you get your bayard to do that?” 

“Lots of practice.”

“Where’d you get those scars?”

“.. Are you joking? We’re in the middle of a war. Next.”

“Man you’re oooold.”

That last one wasn’t a question but instead an observation from Lance. Keith scowled some. “Well I mean.. Yeah I guess. I’m like around Shiro’s current age. What’d you expect? I’m from the future.” Ah, that was still odd admitting at this point. 

Shiro heaved a sigh and stood. “I think we should give him some space. We still have a lot to figure out. We don’t even know when and how we can get both Keith’s returned to their time.” A somber mood washed over the team, and they all began getting up. Coran and Allura waved the others along, but Shiro lingered. Keith got up with a sigh and glanced over to him when he felt a warm hand on his shoulder. 

“I’ve got some clothes you could probably use. You should take a breather and let everything process. We’ll get on the case of getting you back,” he said softly and offered a small smile, giving Keith’s shoulder a small squeeze. 

Keith looked a bit pained for a moment. He missed everyone already even if he was technically surrounded by them still. “I’ll take a moment to myself, but I’ve got to help everyone else out. After all I’m the only one who even kind of knows what I touched.” Shiro nodded at that. 

“Alright. Don’t overextend yourself.” 

Keith smiled some. “Yeah yeah.. You should learn to take your own advice from time to time.” That time he got a small chuckle out of Shiro. 

“Alright let's get you something to change into and give you your items back.”

* * *

 

Once he was dressed and got a moment to take a breather, Keith headed back out to assist the others. They didn’t figure much out about a time travel device in the ship’s archives nor Coran’s vast knowledge, but they did manage to pinpoint the planet Keith had found it on. 

“Well I say we all get some rest. We’ll be at Thurn B1 in roughly a quintent. We must be ready to act quickly and effectively if we want to get things back in order.” Everyone nodded along and began heading out to their respective rooms. Keith began to become even more aware that he’d be sleeping alone tonight. Silently he hoped it would only be tonight. 

Keith layed in bed for a good while before deciding that he could not, in fact, sleep. With a bit of hesitation, Keith snuck out of his room. His socked feet padded on the cold metal floors of the ship as he made his way to the observation deck. He frowned a bit recalling that most nights he would do this, Lance would be by his side with a large blanket in hand.  _ “You worry too much,” Lance would tease in a soft whisper though Keith would notice the way his shoulders would seem tense and too many times he would frown deep in thought.  _

He sat down on the floor to stare out at the stars.  _ “You know.. I kind of miss being able to make out constellations in the sky,” Lance would mumble as he pulled the blanket around both of their shoulders. Keith would scoot closer until he was later sitting in Lance’s lap, head tucked under his chin, only just barely looking out to the stars at this point.  _

Keith scrubbed at his burning eyes with the back of his hand. He really hoped Lance was okay. He left him alone with no cover and if his younger self was out there and without his bayard and suit well.. Keith let out a shaky breath. He was pulled from his thoughts at the sound of someone else coming into the room. He quickly turned to look at this younger Lance decked out in his pajamas and lion slippers, a blanket pulled snug around himself. 

“..Keith? What are you doing out here?” Keith’s shoulders slumped, and he took on a somber look again. 

“Couldn’t sleep.. I came out here to think I guess… Uhm.. If you want you can join me? Or I can leave. I know this is your place to think and all,” he rambled a bit and moved to get up. Lance quickly shook his head and stopped him. 

“No no it’s fine I… If you don’t mind I think I’ll join you.”

He sat down next to Keith, a few feet between them. There was silence between the two of them for a moment. 

“I didn’t know you like to think here too,” Lance said softly and pulled the blanket a bit tighter around himself. 

Keith smiled a bit to himself as he looked out to the stars. “I didn’t used to..”

* * *

_ It was before they were ever really dating. Lance was heading out to the observation deck when he spotted Keith in the training room. He wasn’t even really doing much vigorous training just taking stabs at any targets, all of which were unbelievably easy to hit. Lance faltered for a moment before heading in and calling out to end the training. Keith huffed and shot him a bit of a look. _

_ “Why’d you do that?” Keith demanded though he didn’t sound exactly upset over it. _

_ “You aren’t asleep,” Lance observed and Keith snorted, reverting his bayard to its original form.  _

_ “Yeah and neither are you.” _

_ “I was going to the observation deck to think,” Lance said simply with a shrug. Keith frowned a bit. He knew of at least some of Lance’s insecurities and some worries. “Do.. Do you want to join me?” He asked with a bit of hesitation. It was embarrassing how fast Keith agreed.  _

* * *

 

Lance just nodded and looked back out at the stars, silence once again falling over them. They sat like that for a while, vargas probably. Lance grew tired and yawned before standing. “I’m heading in.. you should probably too,” he said with a small sleepy smile. Keith nodded but made no move to get up. “I’ll see you in the morning, Lance.”

Lance frowned slightly but nodded. “See you..”

Keith was left alone and to his thoughts once again. His hand moved to pull out the ring and worry it between his fingers, trying to find some comfort in the movement. Sleep eluded him that night. 

 


	2. sometimes you just cant do anything

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We get a look into the future. Lance isn't exactly taking well to the fact that his Keith is gone for an unknown amount of time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it'll be flipping between current and future timeline with this!! the chapter is a shorter and possibly has a good amount of errors but i gotta hit the road real soon so i wanted to get this posted!

_ “I’m having some issues. Keith went into this place alone, and all I’m getting on the comm is static from him. I’m heading in and may need backup.” _

* * *

 

The others quickly hopped onto the comms link at Lance’s sort of distress call. 

“What do you  _ mean _ he went into a place alone?” Pidge hissed into Lance’s ear over the link. The rumble of her lion was heard in the background. Lance let out a long groan as he continued on, hesitating for a moment as he reached a fork in the cave. He checked the map and.. And,  _ shit, _ whatever it was Keith found was no longer emitting a signal. 

“It’s exactly what I  _ said.  _ Fuck- okay look we found some signal, and Keith being the  _ idiot _ he is rushed in to go check it out.”

“And you didn’t stop him?” Pidge shrieked causing Lance to flinch. His head was starting to hurt. Okay eenie meanie minny-  _ this one. _ He started down the path to his left. 

“Okay look, so maybe I was a bit curious, and there’s some times where I can’t help but give in to hi-” 

“Hey buddy, could we maybe not?” Hunk interrupted his sentence sounding rather uneasy. So maybe he’d been a bit too detailed with Hunk on his love life before.. Doesn’t mean he can be rude.

Finally Shiro cut in. “Lance, I’m heading your way.” The others fell silent at that, and Lance let out a grunt to acknowledge him. 

The comms go rather dead as everyone focuses on their tasks at hand. Lance continued to trudge down the winding paths of the cave. He decided to throw any caution to the wind and start just shouting out Keith’s name. Aaand dead end. So he retraced his steps and went down another path. 

“Lance, I’m in bound. I’ve got your signal, but I’m not picking anything up from Keith.” He sounded grim. They had all had one too many close calls over the years and this.. This was disturbing when there was  _ nothing _ from someone. There was always the comms link or a ping from their suit or something from their lion. Lance tried to reach deep down and get some connection to Red. Something to know that Keith was alright. That he wasn’t-  _ nope _ not going down that train of thought. Last thing he needs right now is a panic attack. Right Red. He felt the faint connection and a deep rumble in his chest. There was… Confusion? And- He was pulled from his train of thought. 

“Lance?” Shiro asked tentatively. He was running, Lance could hear it in his voice. 

“Sorry there!” Lance said forcing an all too chipper voice. He still had a tendency to do that. “Got a bit lost in my head there.. Alright, be careful this cave is.. Honestly confusing as hell, and I’m no longer picking up a signal from the thing Keith found.” 

“I guess this’ll be more difficult than we thought..” There was a grunt from him and the all too familiar sound of him attacking a sentry. 

“I’ll let you know when I find him.” No room for if. 

Time passes and the worry in Lance’s gut curls and festers and threatens to make his breakfast reappear. His gut jerks when he hears a faint noise. A simple ‘hello?’ in the dark cave system. Lance wants to jump and dance and kiss the ever living shit out of Keith and then smack him upside the head for being an  _ absolute idiot you don’t fuck with unknown substances holy shit!! _ He tries to settle himself a bit as he charges towards where he heard the noise feeling too big for his skin right now. 

“Keith?!  _ Keith!!”  _ He shouts out into the darkness, light on his helmet shining on his pathway. He reaches a cramped room of the cave and freezes. There was no armor but there was Keith, looking unbelievably small, hair hanging low over his face as he gripped his Marmora blade. 

“Stay back,” he growled out, blinking rapidly from being suddenly blinded. Once his vision returned he stared wide eyed up at Lance. “Lance..?”

God, he seemed so small and his voice so fragile, and Lance thought he was going to cry. He honestly couldn’t even begin questioning where his armor or bayard went or why he looked so, so small. He was just elated that he was alive. 

“Keith,” he croaked out, voice raw with emotion. He dropped down to his knees in front of him and tears clouded his vision. He reached out with a large watery smile.  _ “Keith.. _ What happened I- Shit..” He flipped on the comm connection again. “Shiro I found him holy shit he’s alive. I don’t know what happened, but I’m bringing him out.” There was a heavy sigh of relief from Shiro and small chatter from the others sharing their relief as well. 

“Keith, I’m going to pick you up,” Lance said cautiously. They all began giving warnings of what they were going to do as anxiety and panic attacks called for it. On the battlefield itself, explaining actions became necessary from time to time. An unexpected move could lead to great danger to the others. 

Keith looked beyond confused but nodded hesitantly. “Okay,” he said and once again Lance is remind of how small he seemed. It was weird. Of course Keith was always smaller than him or at least just at his height, but Keith now was taller than he was when they began this. Taller and heavy with thick muscles from years of training. 

Once he had Keith in his arms and was standing, Lance headed out of the cave, giddy to get Keith home. In the back of his mind Lance knew that there would be debriefing, reprimanding, getting Keith inspected, trying to solve what happened to his paladin armor, and so on, but for now all Lance cared about was having Keith safe and in his arms. 

Lance was grinning widely as he left the cave. Shiro was there waiting though it took a moment of adjusting to the lighting difference for Lance to notice him. He let out a whoop of victory which faded into a giddy laugh. 

Shiro smiled at them though it quickly shifted into a concerned frown. Lance looked confused as he came to a stop in front of him, coming down from his high of finding his fiance. “Shiro..?” He asked cautiously. 

“We need to get him to the ship something is.. Wrong.” 

Lance glanced down to Keith in his arms and.. Oh was he small and so  _ young.  _ Lance’s stomach twisted in knots as this familiar, yet oh so unfamiliar, Keith squirmed a bit in his arms. He clutched his blade in one hand and brought the other to press to his temple. 

“What is going on..? Where am I?”

Lance’s stomach sank like a stone. Something was wrong. Horribly wrong. “I’ll fly him back in Blue.” Lance’s voice was distant, and he started towards his lion who met him halfway and let them in. Blue rumbled and pushed at his brain.  _ Strange one.. He’s Red’s kit yet.. Not…  _ Lance was not settled by that and continued along mechanically.

“..Lance.. What happened? Why was I not on the ship. I was in bed and-” Lance heaved a sigh. 

“I don’t know Keith. We’re going to figure it out.” Keith didn’t exactly like that answer and continued to press the heel of his palm to his head. 

The trip to the Castle of Lions was, thankfully, rather fast. Lance got up and tried to get Keith to stand. “You think you can walk out by yourself..?” Keith just nodded and gave him an odd look. They left Blue together.

* * *

Keith’s head was killing him. Last thing he knew, he was asleep in bed, and now he woke up on some unknown planet alone and in the dark. Lance showed up and there was Shiro, but.. Ugh it was too confusing they looked older? And they acted like they knew what was going on until Keith showed up. He tried not to think too much during the ride in Blue though as he began the descent down the ramp out of her mouth, Keith caught sight of the others. His head was reeling again. They all looked different. He couldn’t take it. He- he-.. Keith fainted on the ramp.

* * *

 

There was a gasp from the others and quickly Lance caught Keith and scooped him up. “Guy’s I-...” He stumbled on his words and quickly snapped his mouth shut not wanting to ramble and just lose it. 

Coran quickly guided him to the healing pods so they could change him and put him in. There was silence and the other’s lingered around. The more time Lance got to see Keith the more he realized this really Really wasn’t his Keith. He turned on his heel and headed out of the room. Coran made to call out after him but let him go. 

* * *

 

Keith could faintly hear some chatter from outside of the pod, huh.. Pod.. Not a moment later he game tumbling out. He was caught in a warm embrace and just leaned into it, body too cold and this one was a toasty warmness. There was a hushed silence and Keith blinked a bit, glancing up at whoever had him in his arms. 

Hunk. 

“Hey big man,” Keith mumbled and continued to lean into him. He stayed like that for a moment before scowling and hesitantly pushing away some, legs wobbly and head reeling some. He tried to study Hunks features. He.. Well he looked different. His bangs were pushed back by his bandana which was used as some sort of headband. He could tell his hair was longer, pulled back into a small ponytail at the nap of his neck. On top of it all he had plenty of stubble and little scars littered his features. He scowled further not knowing what to make of this. “..Hunk..?”

Hunk nodded and gave him a small smile. “Hey there.. Why don’t we go and sit you down. Get you some food and water. We have some questions, but why don’t you settle yourself first.” Keith nodded numbly and followed him along. He registered that there was others with them, but he didn’t pay attention as Hunk gently led him to the dining hall. 

All in all the dining hall looked rather unchanged. What had changed was the food placed in front of him. It resembled, well,  _ actual food.  _ “Hunk... What is this?” He asked in awe. The others began taking a seat at the table. “Ah, well it’s food,” he said with a light laugh. He knew there was more to the story but.. But shit he’s not going to pass up actual food even if he didn’t know how it got there. He quickly began scarfing down the food, a gentle ‘slow down’ from one of the others stilted his efforts to inhale his food. 

When Keith finishes up, pushing his plate in front of him and taking one last sip of his water, he finally gets a look at the others. He was sat at the head of the tables and the others filled in. Pidge sat to his left, arms folded and resting on the table. Her hair was pulled back into a bun. Shiro sat on her side, he didn’t look too different. His face looking older and much more tired and Keith took note that his Glara arm looked to match Altean tech than anything. Hunk was too Keith’s right and Allura sat beside him. She seemed to be the most unchanged, the big differences being how she styled her hair and what clothing she wore. Coran stood behind her. Keith frowned a bit. 

“Where’s Lance..?” He asked a bit hesitantly. Lance was the one to get him out so he had to be there, right? An uncomfortable tension filled the room as the others shared looks. Shiro was the one to speak. 

“He had it a little rough on the mission, so he’s resting currently... Now.. Since you seem to be looking better hopefully you don’t mind a round of questions..?” Keith shifted a bit in his seat but nodded. “Of course..”

It was simple questions they asked, though Keith felt a bit uncomfortable though it all. The air was light in terms that he wasn’t being harshly questioned, but he still felt uneasy. In the end, Allura sighed and stood. 

“It seems the event we had been anxiously anticipating has finally come to play. I had nearly forgotten it after all these years.. I’m sure you all are in a similar boat.” Keith was confused beyond measure. 

“And, uh... What’s that..?” Allura gave him a soft smile in reassurance he felt like it was supposed to make him feel better, but it didn’t do much.

“Around ten Earth years back, you had been switched with your future counterpart, the Keith from this time. That is what this event is. We’ve anticipated it, yet as the time has passed, and we’ve had many other things on our minds, we’ve forgotten about it.” She directed a look to Shiro. “When Keith encountered the unknown object, it must have triggered it all..” Allura looked back to Keith. “At this point, all we can do is wait for our younger selves to figure the situation out and send you, both of you, back to your respected places in time.” 

Keith felt queasy again. Maybe eating that fast  _ was _ a bad idea. “Oh,” he said softly and averted his gaze, looking down at the table. “How.. How long until that happens..?” 

“I’m unsure..” Coran took that opportunity to jump in once Allura spoke. “You know time is a rather fickle thing,” he began, twisting and pulling at his mustache. “It’s hard to pinpoint from when it’ll nab you-” Coran continued to ramble and reenact as he spoke. Keith pushed up from his seat feeling even more uneasy. 

“I think I’m going to take a break,” he blurted out before storming out of the room. Everyone shared concerned looks as he left. 

The often used rooms in the castle looked.. More lived in. There was clutter and decorations, and as Keith headed to his room he expected just the same. He could see himself picking up small things from the planets they visited and keeping them for later. He wasn’t expecting to be hit by a wave of stale air as he opened the door to his room. It looked  _ bare.  _ Like no one even occupied the room. It seemed just like it did before he began occupying it. Perhaps he changed rooms over the years..? I mean it was a huge possibility. With a frown he stepped away from his door and walked the few paces it took to get to Lance’s. 

He was vaguely reminded of when Lance had come to  _ him _ in regards of his insecurities and worries about the team. It was.. A nice moment. Keith was an absolute idiot on what it took to comfort someone, but Lance left seeming a bit lighter. Keith knocked on the door. There was a beat of silence before the door opened to reveal Lance. He was out of his armor and wrapped up in his robe like Keith is so used to seeing. It looks worn but well love. 

“I told you, Hunk, I’m fine. Leave me alone. I don’t  _ want _ to see Keith,” he hissed, not noticing who was in front of him with his eyes shut. There was a beat, and Lance reluctantly opened his eyes, face going a bit pale. 

“Oh..” Keith felt his stomach twist into knots as a lump formed in his throat. So he guesses they still aren’t on better terms after all this time. He schools his look easily and crosses his arms. “I just wanted to know where my room was. I went to the one that I always used, and it didn’t seem lived in.”

Lance continued to dumbly look at him. He opened his mouth to speak a few times, each time snapping it shut. “Sorry, uh hold on. I uh.. Sorry about that whole not wanting to see you bit. It’s really nothing against you,” he said quickly. Keith began to feel more confused and haunched in on himself. 

“Well what is it then..?” Lance frowned as he paused for a moment. “It’s just…” He heaved a sigh and leaned in the doorway. “It’s hard to explain.. I guess… I wasn’t really expecting the Keith from my time to.. Not be here..? We’re… Well in the future you and me are pretty close. It’s.. It’s hard I guess.. Uhm, anyway about your room.. You uh.. You picked up the tendency to not sleep in there..?” He says sounding unsure for a moment. “But yeah that’s.. Still your room.” 

Keith is beyond confused again. First of all, Lance was quick to fix any ‘misunderstandings’ with communication and not getting huffy and blowing things up. Next him and Lance get close??  _ I mean not that he’s going to complain about that.  _ And then there’s the whole thing about him not sleeping in his room? The future is fucking confusing.

“Uhm.. Right I’ll.. I’ll just go then,” Keith said and awkwardly shuffled his feet before moving to leave. Lance frowned at him as he left. He looked concerned. Keith didn’t want to say anything about it. He really just needed to get some rest..

* * *

 

Lance couldn’t find sleep that night, curled up in on himself on the bed Keith and him had shared. He didn’t know how long they’d go without  _ his _ Keith. The same Keith he’d been through so much with. The one who filled their room with gems and rocks from the planets they visited and who would cuddle close to Lance when they went to bed. Gone was that planned alone time. 

Lance got up, pulling the blanket with him. He left for the observation deck. It was still night by the Castle’s artificial time thankfully. Lance tucked himself into a window sill, wrapping himself in a blanket cocoon. The blanket still smelled faintly of Keith and he clung to that as the night continued to tick by. He managed to start to drift off, eyes growing as heavy as his heart while he sat there. 

Finally sleep pulled him in. 

 


	3. best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team gets ready for their mission on Thurn B1 and Keith does a little reminiscing.

Keith had returned to his empty room as the night came to an end. He went about cleaning his Paladin armor some before the call for breakfast came. It was work that he could choose not to do by hand, but the methodology was distraction enough to keep his gut from twisting and turning with worry. He washed away dirt and tried to buff out scuffs on the off white plating. He hyperfocused on his task, blocking out all other thoughts and any outside distractions. He was only pulled from his mechanical movements when Coran’s voice came over the speaker, calling the others to breakfast and briefing for the mission ahead of them.

Keith’s anxiety rose again, lodging itself high in his throat. His distraction was now gone, and he was left to face reality once again. Keith wandered to breakfast and ended up as one of the first ones there. Coran was rather chipper and greeted Keith. “Morning number two!”

That pulled a small smile from Keith. He never got that one before. “Morning Coran..” He trailed off with a frown, remembering they just had food goo. 

“Not feeling goo in the morning?” Coran asked, peering closer to Keith. 

“Not.. exactly. I guess I’m just used to...  _ normal _ food.” That caught Coran’s attention. They briefly discussed what foods they could synthesize the the future when Shiro came in, quickly followed by Hunk and Pidge. They caught the tail end of his conversation which led to him having to retell his story. Suddenly everyone seemed even less thrilled to eat their food goo. 

“Man I miss real food,” Pidge huffed out, and Hunk solemnly nodded. 

Lance finally decided to make his entrance, arms stretching high above his head as his back arched. “Good morning,” he said in a light tone though Keith quickly picked up on the tired look to his eyes and the way his shoulders were stiff when he went to fill a bowl of food goo for himself. It was a habit that stayed, though decreased in frequency in the future. Lance always tried to present himself as being always at ease and chipper. Thankfully he learned that it’s perfectly fine not not be that way and from time to time he’d come wandering into a room looking anything but at ease and happy as can be. 

Instead of his usual spot beside Keith, Lance opted to sit across from him. He leaned a bit to the side, bumping shoulders with Hunk. “Mornin’ buddy,” he said with a lazy grin. Hunk was happy to pull him into a half hug and catch him up on the table-time discussion. His features wavered at the mention of Keith, but he just pressed on an exaggerated pout at the whole, no real food thing. Finally he cast a glance at Keith since coming into the room.

“Also I thought there was that whole ‘no spoilers’ thing?” He said throwing air quotes around his words. His gaze never fully met Keith’s, but he was looking in his direction. Keith just offered a shrug.

“It’s such a minor detail that I doubt it would change much. I never told you how we manage it or any of the other details around it,” he said simply. The others nodded a bit as they ate, accepting that answer. 

As breakfast was winding down, Allura finally made her appearance. “Paladins.. When you’re finished eating, meet me back in the control room. We have much to discuss if we want this mission to pan out successfully.” Keith got a bit of a look of determination and pushed away from the table just at the same time that Shiro did. He got rid of his bowl and headed off to follow after Allura. 

There was silence between him and Shiro as they walked. Nothing uncomfortable but it did have an odd air to it. Keith had grown used to the team taking Allura’s ‘check-ins’ as signs that she was more than  ready to discuss plans, and they should head out immediately. Some days they didn’t get the luxury of sitting around eating and making idly chatter. Even if it wasn’t an immediate action kind of thing, they would be dressed and ready to go if they were called to plan without any downtime between that and sleeping. 

They waited for the others to come along, and there were some murmurs when Keith  _ didn’t  _ hang back, leaning against the wall with arms crossed. All of them have gotten their fair share of leadership over the years, and while Keith wasn’t fond of the idea at first he knew just how to take charge of a situation and lead. 

With everyone finally settled in the room, Allura blew up a map of the star system they were about to enter. “Now.. As you can tell this star system is occupied by.. Many Galran bases. It’s nothing unexpected, but something we have to take into account. We are attempting to retrieve an item within a cave system of Thurn B1 which is here.” Her hands swept across the holo map and stretched and pulled until they could see the planet. It was much smaller than the others and featured itself more towards the center of the system. 

“We will need to be cautious. Once we enter the system, the Galra in the area will no doubt notice us. Chances are we will have to fight off Galran forces before we can even land on Thurn B1.” The others nodded and Keith frowned. 

“Are you planning on bringing the castle into the star system?” Allura looked a bit surprised when he asked a question but quickly covered up her surprise with a nod. 

“Yes, I will bring it into the system and send the lions out.” Keith frowned. 

“Don’t do that.” There was another round of confused looks. “You’re exposing the castle to too many variables. You have too many Galran forces around. Of course they’re probably occupied with other planetary issues, but there is no one to enslave in this system. They are dead planets. With any chance they get of course they’re going to send out any personal they have on hand to go fight us. We should leave the castle behind in case of any emergency and to insure it doesn’t get caught in the middle of everything. When I was just in this system, most bases were shut down and there was barely a threat. We can’t rely on that informations seeing that we must have had an impact at this current time.”

There was a silence that fell upon the others. Shiro approached and placed a hand on Keith’s shoulder. “I agree. I don’t think we should test the water with this one. If Voltron needs the backup, we can always send in the castleship later.”

Allura nodded and returned the map to the overview of the star system. “Alright, then the ship will stay behind for possible backup.. Now as Keith had brought to our attention from the start, there is multiple Galran bases on the planet itself.. Keith would you be able to point out where this particular cave was?” She asked and cast a look to him. Keith nodded though he was a bit uneasy by the thought that he may not be able to recall where exactly. It wasn’t like they were given exact locations. 

“Right..” Keith let out a long breath and examined the holographic planet. He tried to focus, recalling anything he could from the mission briefing. 

* * *

 

_ “As we’re all well aware, not all Galran bases have gotten word of the empire’s takedown. Not only that but some are still fighting to regain the power that was lost. Lance.. Keith, Thurn B1 has a remaining base that is still active. It’s the smallest on the planet, yet it is still in operation. You will need to break in and retrieve anything you can find that’s left of the Heiro. It’s our last lead on it, so I hope you return with something of use.” Allura gave them a bit of a pointed look. Lance dropped Keith’s hand to give her a mock salute. “You got it, Princess.” _

* * *

 

Keith turned the planet around in his hand as he tried to find the smallest Galran base..  And  _ bingo.  _ “Here,” Keith said, blowing up the image to show off the base and cave system near by. “It’s a bit of a tricky system and the only reason why I found the.. Well the device was because I had a ping coming from it on my map. We didn’t pick up a signal until we landed.”

“So are we all heading down to the planet?” Pidge piped up with a curious look. 

“Yeah and is Keith taking Red?” Keith frowned a bit. 

“I think it’s best if I stay behind and let Allura take Blue and Lance Red. If the situation calls for Voltron, it could be difficult to form. Not to mention if we do I don’t want anyone getting any information they shouldn’t have by the mind melding process. As for if the whole team is needed I think that depends on the activity down on the planet and in the sky.” The others seemed rather receptive to what he was saying. 

“Ya know, buddy.. You got pretty leader-y over the years,” Lance said with a bit of a grin. Keith just shrugged though a small smile tugged at his lips. 

“We all did,” Keith said simply. Lance grinned wider. “You know what happened to that shoot now ask questions later mentality,” he teased, hands on hips. The others threw him pointed looks. Keith huffed a bit.

“I mean it’s still there, but I know how to think things out.” It was different having Lance challenge him over things that really didn’t make an impact. He was more than use to, and grateful for, the times Lance would challenge an idea he brought up to the group if he felt it was too risky. It would get Keith thinking and taking a moment to assess his own thoughts. Really this was just a mission he’s had play out a bit before and it only made sense to go about it this way. Had it been a new situation all bets were off if he’d present some stupid reckless plan.

“Well team, I say we suit up and get ready to roll out,” Shiro said with a nod and gestured to the others. Shiro lingered for a moment to clap Keith on the back. “It’s good to see that you accept your role as a leader in the future,” he said with a gentle smile. Keith smiles back. “It was a matter of time.. Besides we all take leadership roles on the team..”

* * *

 

_ At first any diplomatic events were headed by Allura and taken on by the team as a whole. It worked well enough as they were starting to pave their way through the universe, though as time passed and more possibly allies arose, it became obvious the team could not do those meetings as a whole. There was a bit of trial and error, but they worked out a rather good system. Hunk and Lance turned out to be quite the diplomats. While some of the others protested, saying that Lance was kind of just screwing around a lot during their meetings with leaders, he was actually the one to really get the those on the allied force comfortable with the Paladins. He was charming and quiet the people person. It didn’t hurt that he did enjoy all of the attention. So selfies and grandeur tales were a staple among diplomatic missions.  _

_ As for Hunk he was one to speak logic and warm the hearts of all who he encountered. As Lance began roping in the masses with his goofy ways, Hunk spoke with the leaders on the possibility of being in the alliance as well as ways Voltron could help ease any burden put upon their people by the Galra. With Hunk leading things, they never left a planet without an agreement to the alliance as well as plates of delicious local cuisine. Everyone appreciated that.  _

_ ~ _

_ Pidge began leading tech related endeavors. It was nothing different from before yet this time she was leading any missions involving extracting information from databases and so on. They all lead a mission or two but that was Pidge’s niche. The baton would be passed to her at each mission planning that involved tech or data at any caliber. After a mission or two where information was lost or tech destroyed because of miscommunication and planning that lead to the downfall of Pidge’s work the team easily agreed to it.  _

_ She was also one to take on many solo missions, as well as leading ones involving others from the team, that took on retcon. Any sort of interrogation was headed by her, and it was no surprise why. While she was much smaller in stature compared to the others and seemed to have the least intimidating, well everything, she was nothing to sneeze at.  _

_ ~ _

_ Finally, Keith was in charge of missions involving the Blade. Really anything involving the Blade. From simple contact and discussions all the way to large scale missions that would need their forces to take on. They each got their own taste of leadership, and, thankfully, Shiro was left to take a break on being the lead on many missions.  _

* * *

 

Shiro gave his shoulder a small squeeze before heading off to catch up with the others. Keith sighed and moved to sit down. He was missing his family even more as time passed, and was really hoping things went smoothly. He wanted so badly to return to the others and the way things were. Not that this little almost trip down memory lane wasn’t nice, but he forgot how lonely it was for him back then. He had no real support, aside from Shiro. Sure they were a team, and they were all supposed to be there for each other, but that didn’t mean Keith spent so much time hiding his emotions and sticking himself into that ‘loner’ box. Now he had the whole team to talk to and most of all he had Lance. 

Keith sighted and Coran glanced over for a moment before continuing what he was doing with the ship’s controls. “You know I’m not sure if I’ve told you this before, but I know how it feels.” He sounded like his chipper self thought there was a hint of something else. Coran and him had discussions before though it was really Coran and Lance who delved deep into emotional conversations at odd times. He was silent but probed Coran to continue.

“It’s tough to suddenly lose those whom you’re so close to.. Thankfully for you this should only be a temporary thing, but that doesn’t make it any less tough,” he said and sent another look his way. He hummed for a moment. “Well anyway.. Tell me am I still just as gorgeous in the future?” He gave Keith a goofy grin who smiled gratefully at him. 

“Yeah you are.. Thanks again Coran..”

* * *

 

The others jumped onto the comm link as they got into their lions. Keith let out a small sigh and moved to stand beside Coran as their faces popped up on the screen in front of them. Shiro looked rather determined. 

“Alright team, we’re heading in. Are goal is to get to Thurn B1. Keep your eyes peeled for any Galran ships.” The others nodded and started off. 

Keith watched as they worked. It was odd to see them work... Less in sync. Of course they were far from being a complete mess, but they were nothing like they will become in the future. They predicted moves and knew what to do without having to speak to the others about it. He supposes 10 plus years of working as a team as well as having mental connections and mind melding exercises can do that to someone. 

* * *

 

Unfortunately, Voltron was needed. Not that the team couldn’t do it or anything, but it just added time to the whole mission. While the others were reveling in the high of just defeating a good amount of enemies, Keith was getting a bit agitated. He wanted things to hurry up. The sooner they got to the planet the sooner they could get Keith back. 

“Alright there can still be Galran forces coming for us so I’ll stay behind with Allura,” Shiro said, calling out orders. The remaining three Paladins made their descent on the planet, following the pinpoint on the map that was placed there for them.  

“We’re coming in hot,” Lance shouted into the comms before letting out an excited howl. “Get ready to get some ass kicking!” Lance was much better with maneuvering Red, no longer shooting past everyone without intention. That didn’t, though, stop him from shooting past everyone with full intention of what he was doing, crashing down by the cave. 

“Way to go Lance, now we really don’t have the element of surprise,” Pidge deadpanned. 

“Yeah yeah we didn’t really have it anyway. Let’s just hurry up and get this over with.”

They went about taking out some of the sentries that were leaving the base nearby and as Hunk continued to take care of them, Pidge and Lance got out to head for the cave. Pidge scowled as she looked at her map.

“Keith, you said you got a signal from this..  _ Thing  _ when you got to the planet, right?” Keith nodded with a frown. 

“Yeah, it was like some beacon and it just.. Pinged on my map..” Pidge scowled some and hummed a bit. 

“That’s weird.. I’m not getting anything on mine.. Lance how about you..?” He glanced down and flicked his wrist to pop up the map. “Yeah I’ve got nothing too..”

Keith’s jaw clenched. He worried his thumb across the clenched fingers of his fist. “Okay.. So what does that mean? It’s not there?” 

“That or you have different tech in the future or upgrades that actually picked up the signal.”

_ Well shit. _


	4. killing time is a game

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance helps Keith kill some time.

Lance was faintly aware that someone was nudging him. He was barely conscious at this point, sleep heavy and fogging his thoughts. Again there was some more nudging. Lance let out a whine and shifted a bit. 

“Five more minutes, Keith,” he grumbled and pulled the warm blankets tighter around himself. There was a small noise of surprise.

“Uh, how’d you know it was me?” Came a voice in response. Lance’s eyes shot open and he went a bit ridgid. “Uhm- Fuck.” He wriggled a bit and tried his best to sit up, suddenly very awake. “Keith? I mean Keith! Yeah uh.. Lion mojo I could sense your presence that way..?” I mean it wasn’t a complete lie. There was a bit of that going on at times, yet it wasn’t why he called out Keith’s name. 

“Heeeey buddy, watcha doin out here?” He asked with a strained smile. Even though he was standing over him, Keith still looked unbelievably small, curled up on himself with his arms crossed and shoulders slumped. 

“I was gunna ask you the same thing.. Why are you sleeping out here..?” He looked a bit confused at Lance’s whole situation. Lance wriggled around a bit more, having tangled himself up in the blanket in his sleep.

“Uh.. Came here to think, and I guess I passed out. Whoops?” More wriggling and Lance fell out of the windowsill. Letting out a long whining groan, Lance stayed down. He had accepted his fate.

“Whelp this is it for me! Tell the team Allura can have Blue and-.. Aww wait.. I’ve gotta pilot Red while you’re here. Nevermind..” Keith watched this all still feeling a bit confused though a beat later he was laughing. Lance craned his neck a bit to look up at him from his position on the cold metal floor. 

“Baaaauuuuddy man wow rude??”  _ Smooth cover up.  _ Keith’s laughter stopped and he continued to be perplexed by this Lance who.. Seemed so much the same yet there was something there that really was different. Keith glanced back over his shoulder to the door of the room. 

“Uhm, anyway Hunk sent me to go get you for breakfast and you weren’t in your room, but he said you might be here.. Sooo.. Yeah.” Keith shifted on his feet and glanced at the door for a second time. Finally Lance managed to get out of his blanket trap. 

“Yeah yeah I’ll walk with you over,” he said and got to his feet, leaving the blanket on the floor. He ran a hand quickly through his hair. “Let’s head out!” He said with a forced on grin. Keith didn’t really noticed and nodded, turning to the door. 

“So.. Do you sleep out here often?” Lance was lost in his head for a second and quickly snapped out of it. “Huh? Oh, nah not really.. I do go there to think though. I’ve been doing it siiince.. Well practically since we got to the castle I think? Dunno.. I guess like how going out and duking it out with the gladiator helped to clear your head, sitting out there with all the vastness of space around me kinda.. Helps clear my head..? Dunno if that makes sense.”

“No, I think I get what you’re saying..” Keith said with a small nod. Lance nodded along and fell silent as they walked. When they reached the entrance to the dining hall, Lance let Keith go in first with a flourish and bow. 

“After you!” He said with a small smirk. Keith threw him an amused look. 

“Do you do that often?” He asked, and didn’t expect someone in the room to respond. 

“All the time,” Pidge grumbled out as she sipped on a mug of.. Something? He’d assume some sort of coffee from her disheveled very much not awake look. Keith started a bit at her response but quickly nodded. 

“Makes sense I guess,” he said with a light shrug. He assumed it was just a _Lance Thing_ at this point and not a _Lance-at-Keith Thing._ Though that last thought wasn’t.. A bad one..

Lance went straight for the table where there was plates stacked with food in the center for the others to take from. He was clearly eager to load a plate high with food and dig in. Keith was still in awe at all the food that wasn’t goo and resembled food from back on Earth. He hesitantly went about loading up a plate for himself. 

“So.. How do you guys make all this food?” He asked, looking up from his plate to the others. Hunk popped his head out from the kitchen. 

“Well a lot of it we synthesize the ingredients to make the food, but some things are simple enough to just synthesize on its own like sauces and stuff,” Hunk chirped happily. Keith nodded and looked a bit in awe at it all. He was a bit curious about the details of it, but didn’t bother asking. Instead he took a seat at the table to eat. He found a seat beside Shiro. He was familiar enough to ground himself despite the changes to him. 

Shiro offered up a small smile to him. “Sorry we can’t get you back anytime soon.. You’ll have to wait it out around the ship though I’m sure we’ll find things to keep you busy,” he said before taking another bite of food. Keith just silently nodded to that. He was already feeling cooped up as it was. 

There was a stretch of relative silence. The sizzling sound of whatever Hunk was cooking drifted from the kitchen accompanied by the sound of him humming along to some song in his head. Aside from that there was really just the sound of them all eating. It was.. Odd to say the least not hearing a lot of chatter. Maybe they all learned how to enjoy the silence? Honestly Keith was at a loss and slightly unnerved. Hunk came into the room with more food and grabbed a plate for himself. 

“Hey buddy, no jokes today?” Hunk asked Lance as he sat down. Looking up from his food, Lance shot Hunk a bit of a look. Keith couldn’t really read it but that wasn’t anything new. 

“Jokes?” Keith asked from where he sat, and okay maybe he shouldn’t be prying but can you blame him for being curious? Lance froze a bit but put on a small smile. 

“Yeah, I started this tradition of telling some jokes in the morning. Gets the team moral up, you know?” Pidge muttered something under her breath that Lance caught, but Keith couldn’t hear. Lance shot her a glare that quickly faded away. “Anyway if you all  _ really _ want a joke here goes..” He pushed away from the table and stood. Everyone turned to look at him. 

“Why where Medieval knights the best?” He asked, the edges of a smirk coming to his features. There was a pregnant pause. “Because they always had a Lance!” There was a chorus of groans though there was a sort of tension that lifted from their shoulders. Lance grinned and did a slight bow before taking his seat.

“So.. Jokes in the morning… Do you guys have any other traditions?” Keith asks after a moment. The others share a look, seemingly all talking without saying a word. Pidge was the first one to speak.

“Well, yeah we do.. I suppose there is a few things we could show you that won’t mess anything up or spoil too much for you,” she says, casting a look back at the others who all seem to agree. “Besides we all have some down time before we have to head back off on any missions.” The prospect of actually getting a break sounded.. Refreshing. Keith was starting to really come to terms with the fact that at this point there was nothing he could do to return to his time. It was still an overly frustrating thought, but it could be a good excuse to maybe relax some. 

“That sounds good,” Keith said with a small smile. There was some fond looks shot his way, and he quickly averted his gaze, looking down at his plate of food. 

“When we’re all done eating, we can go show you around a bit,” Hunk chirped happily before taking a bite of food. He chewed and swallowed. “There’s a  _ lot _ more to see that you.. Er.. now-you likes? Oh jeez, this’ll be hard referring to..” There was some more chatter about it before the conversation shifted and any of the focus on Keith lifted. He relaxed some and quickly finished up eating. 

* * *

“Alright.. First stop is the control room,” Lance said with a wide grin, walking backwards as he did so. Hunk and Pidge followed along with him and Keith while Shiro and Allura promised to meet up with them at some point.

“Now, you may be asking yourself what could possibly be different about that? My answer?” He paused for a moment and crossed his arms. “Well, if I’m honest not that much, but we did figure out some cool stuff with our chairs. Now, I doubt this will make much of a difference knowing that our chairs have like.. Storage compartments, but I think it’s something that will be nice for all of us to know.” He continued to lead them in there and went right for his chair. He pressed on a panel on the side before it slid open. With a flourish, he showed off the compartment. Keith peered over to see it was filled with various items which Lance happily pulled out to briefly show off. Keith noticed a few small cubes in Lance’s hands as he reorganized his things, chattering away about how convenient it was. 

“What are those cubes?” Keith asked with a tilt of his chin. Hunk happily jumped in to answer his question. 

“Oh, they’re pretty cool! We found them at the space mall one trip. They’re like.. Made to hold a photo or short video clip. They project them when you press the button on one of the sides.” Keith nodded, curious as to what photos Lance was keeping in his chair. Lance seemed to grow antsy as Keith continued to stare and quickly pressed the compartment back into the chair. 

“Right so moving along!” Lance said quickly and waved them towards the exit. “So there’s a few things we could see next.. We have a pretty cool gaming rig, there’s some nicer things to the lounge, there’s the pool that we figured out how to use, and there’s some other rooms we never used in the past… Preferences?” Lance paused in the middle of the hallway. 

“Uh.. you.. Pick?” Lance’s eyes lit up and he waved them along. “Alright, games it is!” He chirped happily. 

* * *

 

It wasn’t an unpleasant experience in the least. Keith actually got a few laughs out of playing games with the other three. Keith honestly felt more carefree than he had in a while which was.. Unbelievably nice. The only issue was he couldn’t help shaking the feeling that Lance was staring him down constantly. Be it while Lance was waiting his turn at button mashing and loud cursing as he furiously tried to beat the others, or while he was even in the middle of a game. 

Eventually when Hunk and Pidge had to split  _ (“See you later Keith!.. Try to go easy on Lance, he is shit at this game” “HEY!!”),  _ and Keith takes this as a chance to at least kind of confront Lance and call him out on his odd behavior. In the middle of another round, Keith gets the feeling again. He quickly whips his head to the side to catch Lance staring. Suddenly his chest feels heavy. The look Lance was giving him.. Lance quickly looks away and pauses the game, not daring to speak just yet. 

“You really miss me-er.. Him don’t you,” he said in a low voice, not phrasing it like a question. Lance fidgets, fingers flying across the controler in his hands to mess with the buttons and joysticks. 

“...Yeah.” Once again a heavy lead seems to settle somewhere in Keith’s chest. Lance’s voice was so raw. Lance continues to stare down at the controler as he fiddles with it. “I know he’ll be back, but.. But it’s not the same. No offense. You are him it’s just.. Different, y’know? It’s... Disorienting.” Lance lets out a deep breath. Keith fidgets a bit himself. 

“What.. Makes us so different?” Keith asked with a small frown. He was honestly curious though.. Though he wasn’t so sure how he felt about being compared and considered somehow lesser. He got it, but.. It didn’t settle well in his stomach. Lance smiled softly, gaze still stuck on his hands and the controller. 

“I mean.. I guess not too much... You started to be more open with us I guess.. You-.. You’re still you I guess just.. More? I don’t know maybe I’m not making any sense. You’re still your hot headed self,” he said with a slight roll of his eyes, his smile twitching wider. “You’re still pretty damn impulsive, but you’re less reserved I guess.. You don’t hide yourself as much.. I mean none of us do, but.. Yeah.” He tore his gaze from his hands to look up at the screen where the game was still paused. Keith was silent.

“How about one more round?” Lance asked, his grin returning though it wasn’t nearly as bright as it could be. Keith nodded and shot him a half hearted smirk. 

“You’re on.”

  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry that his chapter is pretty shitty and rather short. i was going to add more but i've been really struggling with this one for whatever reason. im getting sick so like. lol maybe that's it?? idk
> 
> shout out to mei-the-monster for giving me the idea for lance's little joke. 
> 
> hoping next chapter will come easier.


	5. It's familiar. But not too familiar. But not too not familiar.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the signal not coming through, Keith grows frustrated.. Thankfully there's enough things about the past that can settle his unease some. Flashbacks ahoy!

_ “Okay.. So what does that mean? It’s not there?”  _

_ “That or you have different tech in the future or upgrades that actually picked up the signal.” _

_ Well shit. _

* * *

 

Keith let out a string of curses, this time pressing the heel of his palm to his eye. He has to get down there. He has to get down there and help them find the damn thing so he can get back to his time with his waiting fiance and family. With a set jaw, Keith turned to Coran. 

“I need a ship. Anything. I need to get down there too them,” he said seeming rather set in his plans. Coran frowned a bit. 

“There’s still Galran ships out there. Without your lion it’ll be hard to even defend yourself,” he said wearily. Unknowing that the comms were still open the others jumped in to voice their thoughts. 

“Oh nononono no. You are  _ not _ getting your ass in the thick of this. Future or not you’re still clearly impulsive. You’re going to get yourself killed out here,” Lance shrieked into his mic. “We’ll clear this up before you stick your nose into anything.” The others agreed. 

“I can always just get our tech to match whatever you have if that’s the issue. You don’t need to fly yourself out here to do that,” Pidge said sharply. “Alright, I’m back in Green. We should probably head out back to the ship.”

Keith huffed, not liking how things were going. He stayed long enough to make sure everyone got off of Thurn B1 safely, before turning heel and storming out of the control room. Coran didn’t call out for him, letting out a small defeated sigh instead. Keith wanted to pull his hair out in frustration. He dove his fingers into his hair, ignoring the fact he hand it pulled back, and dug at his scalp.  _ This is ridiculous. They were wasting so much time!  _ Keith barely registered where he was going, until he stood in front of the vast widows of the observation deck. With a huff, he pulled his hands out of his now thoroughly messed up hair. 

_ This would be so much better if (his) Lance was here. Even if he was just here to sit Keith down, tell him to “cool your jets fighter pilot”, and press his side up against Keith’s hand reaching out to free his hair and run his hand through it.  _ Keith sighed and moved to sit on the metal floor, staring at, but not quite seeing, the star system that was out there. In the distance he could make out streaks of color that he knew was the lions, everyone clearing things up before they returned to the castle. He hated not being out there. Not being able to help. He did it for a long time, helping in some ways but never quite in the way that the team needed. It was a living hell. He always wanted nothing more than to run back to the team asking for a spot,  _ any spot,  _ on the team again. This might as well be that all over again.

Keith sat in silence, thumb rubbing his knuckles or fingers methodically tapping the metal floor. He was still anxious and frustrated, but he was calming down. 

~~~

_ Lance would smile and move his hand from Keith’s hair, pulling a small whine from his lips. “Why’d you stop?” Keith would ask, and Lance would just smile lopsidedly at him and bring a hand up to Keith’s jaw, pausing for a moment before leaning in for a chaste kiss. _

_ “You’ve finally relaxed some.. You know, for a guy who rushes into things without thinking, you have a lot of anxiety,” Lance would tease and playfully flick Keith’s nose or possibly just tuck some strand of hair behind his ear, going in for another kiss.  _

_ “I don’t go in without thinking. I do put some thought into things,” Keith would huff and shoot him a weak glare. Lance would probably laugh.  _

_ “Yeah, your thought process isn’t nearly as thorough though…” Maybe Lance would leave it at that, letting comfortable silence fall over them. Maybe they would kiss some more, relaxing into each other’s embrace. Keith would like that.. _

_ ~~~ _

Keith is abruptly pulled from his thoughts. He goes a bit rigid when someone stands beside him. With a quick glance, he notices it’s Lance, hands in his pockets and staring out the window. Keith relaxed some but aside from that no one moved or spoke for a while. 

“Pidge is looking for you,” Lance finally said, breaking the silence. Keith gave a small nod but said nothing in response. 

“Coran told us you stormed out,” Lance said, scuffing his shoe against the metal floor some. “Why?” Lance wasn’t really expecting a response, but he got one anyway. 

“I miss everyone and-... It’s frustrating not being able to head out there and find whatever it is and just-just get back home,” he said with a frustrated huff. “You know what that’s like,” he said, clearly not phrasing it like a question. It was no news to anyone that Lance was the homesick type. His face fell some, and he continued to scuff at the ground. 

“Yeah,” Lance said weakly. “I’d be upset too I guess…” Keith sighed with a nod and his hand went up to the necklace around his neck, tugging at it some until his ring popped out. He thoughtlessly worried at it, stomach heavy with unease and so much longing to be home. 

“I never really knew what that was like.. I mean I always wanted a home and a family, but that just.. Wasn’t a thing. Then Shiro went missing and that was the one person I had that I could almost call family... Anyway now that.. That I honestly do have one I-.. I miss them.” Lance’s eyes flickered to the shiny metal that Keith was worrying between his fingers. His words got lodged in his throat for a moment. 

“You got a ring there..? You married, Keithy?” Lance teased, forcing a smile on his face and bent down some to get more face to face with Keith. “Oooh and who’s the lucky lady? It’s not Allura is it?” He continued to tease but it pained him with each word he said. He didn’t really know why.. Well he kind of did but that was stupid and- and he was just going to leave that train of thought for another day. Keith blinked up at him and held the ring in his fist. 

“I-Shit uh.. No, I’m not married. Besides who gets married in space? Also no?? It’s really not Allura?” Lance gave him a bit of a look. 

“Oh come on anyone wouldn’t pass up marrying someone like her. She’s strong and smart and stunning to look at and has magic and like is a princess??? Anyone would try to put a ring on that,” he said and wiggled his fingers in Keith’s face who just rolled his eyes. 

“Lance, I’m gay,” he said plainly and gave him a ‘are-you-kidding-me’ look. Lance’s jaw dropped, gaping like a fish for a moment as he tried to formulate words. 

“You’re gay?” His voice pitched up in surprise and his face flushed. Keith smirked a bit and rolled his eyes once again.

“Yes, I know what a shocker. Next time don’t assume everyone’s straight. Because they’re not. Anyway whether or not I’m in a relationship and with whom is for me to know, and for you to not ask about. You’ll just have to wait to find out.” Lance was still sputtering and staring at Keith with wide eyes. Keith huffed and got to his feet. 

“Well, this explains why when my younger self tells you, you don’t do this whole thing,” he said lightly. 

“U-Uhm right.. Well uh.. Pidge is in her room so…” Lance cleared his throat and tried to look casual again. Keith just nodded and gave him a small wave before seeking out Pidge. 

* * *

 

Keith knocked on Pidge’s door. There was some shuffling and the sound of a few things clattering before the door slid open. Ah, he’ll never forget how messy her work spaces get.. Honestly he was just glad that they had given her a whole room to work instead of using her bedroom. That never really changed the disheveled state of her sleeping quarters. 

Pidge stood in the doorway of her room which was at an atrocious state. She gave Keith a rather unimpressed look. “You know for someone who’s supposed to be more mature and a leader-y type you are one hell of a pain in the ass,” she said with a huff and turned around, hopping over various things to reach her bed. The invite into her room was clear. Like navigating a minefield, Keith carefully traversed his way through the small room over to her bed. 

“So you were looking for me?” He said idly as he found footing in an empty spot of the floor. She already had her nose in her laptop. 

“Yeah, you’re the only person on this ship with your updated systems,” she said with a slight snort before looking over her laptop. “Also I was a bit worried about you?” Keith sighed and dropped his shoulders that he hadn’t noticed were so tense. 

“Sorry.. Just stressed is all.” She gave him a ‘no-shit’ look before looking back to her laptop, her typing resuming. 

“You’re not the only one who wants people back here.. No matter how interesting it is having you around we kind of want our Keith back,” her voice took on a sort of somber tone at the end, her typing pausing for a second. “I hope he’s okay..”

Keith tried to give her a reassuring look even though her eyes were still on the screen. “Hey younger me is fine. I lived through it so I’d hope I know. A little fuzzy since it was so long ago but.. Yeah. Anyway the important thing is making sure we find this thing that can get me back to my rightful time.” He hoped to switch gears onto the more important topic though he made note to address any of her worries later. “Do you want me to just.. Hand you over my suit or…?” He trailed off with a small shrug. 

“Yeah, if you could get your suit that’d be great.” She glanced up at her room and frowned. “You know maybe we’ll just go to your room.” Keith couldn’t help the small laugh that escaped his lips.

“Yeah, sounds like a good idea.. You know you really need your own workroom. You could take one of the empty rooms in the castle and convert it into a space you need to work,” he casually suggested as he hopped around the room to get back to the door. 

“You know that doesn’t sound like a bad idea..”

* * *

 

_ Pidge was grinning ear to ear as she clutched Hunk’s arm. He was honestly in a similar state. With a couple of giddy jumps, hand still death gripping on Hunk, she let out a loud laugh. “Guys it’s finally done!” She crooned. Matt, who was beside them, smirked and reached out to mess up Pidge’s hair.  _

_ The three of them had worked long and hard to convert one of the castle’s unused rooms into an extensive work area for them. Well, mostly Pidge and Hunk. Matt was on and off the ship as he worked to lead rebel forces, but it was a nice space to sit down and just work things out with Pidge and Hunk. They had everything they needed and it was a bit dizzying for Keith to look at. Sure he understood some of what they did, but it honestly went over his head most of the time. All that mattered was that they had all they could ask for.  _

_ “Okay, but c’mon I’ve gotta show you guys around!” She chirped and let go of Hunk in favor of grabbing onto Keith and Lance. “Okay so this is where we-...” Keith kind of zoned out but nodded along to what she was saying as they were dragged from place to place in the room. Currently it looked neat and organized, but Keith had a feeling with Pidge in their often it would be a mess in no time flat. Keith smiled softly, glad to see Pidge so enthused.  _

* * *

 

There was a silence between them as the walked the short distance to Keith’s room. It still made him uncomfortable as he walked into the empty room. There was nothing clearly saying it was his which at the time made sense but.. At this point the lack of personal touches made him feel  hollow. Like the room wasn’t.. His. He frowned a bit and went to go pick up his armor for Pidge as his mind wandered some more.

* * *

 

_ Lance was already in bed, holo pad in his lap as he went over plans for tomorrow’s mission, the map projected out from the pad for him to manipulate. He was already decked out in his pajamas though he looked far from relaxed, shoulders tense and a wrinkle between his eyebrows. Keith leaned back against the wall beside the door as he entered, arms crossing as he watched Lance and waited for him to notice. Lance’s hands darted over the projection as he moved it around. A heavy sigh filled the air and he dismissed the projection with a flick of his wrist.  _

_ “Relax,” Keith said simply, a small smile gracing his lips. Lance started for a moment before shooting Keith a weak glare.  _

_ “Hey! We agreed no more startling each other.. And I don’t know I’m still worried. There’s a good margin for error, and I just-.. I don’t know how we can reduce it, you know? Like your plans are great! I just-.... I don’t see how we can eliminate any more risk that’s the thing.” Lance huffed and set the holo pad aside.  _

_ They were thankfully given a bigger room with a bed that wasn’t small and inset. It was an awkward conversation to have, but they were easily moved to another room just down the hall. They had already begun filling it with personal touches. On the side table that Lance had set the holo pad, sat a few cubes, a few of them having been activated to project a picture of the team as well as one that displayed a short video clip. It had become Lance’s favorite. A small clip of Keith and Lance just to the side with Lance’s arm slung around him. Keith was laughing at something, and Lance presses a kiss to his cheek before the clip loops back to the beginning. Lance always liked to carry it with him on missions.  _

_ Keith pushed off from the wall and toed off his boots, moving over to the far wall. “Lance, things will work out fine. You’ve been reviewing the plans so often I’m sure you could go through with the mission in your sleep. If something goes wrong, then it’ll be fine. We’ve gone into things completely blind and with no plan before, and we’re still here.” As he spoke he got changed, leaving his boxers and just throwing on a different shirt. “Relax,” he said with a small smile, turning to Lance again.  _

_ Keith made his way over to the bed and sat down, facing Lance. He reached out to brush some of his hair out of his face, hand remaining on his jaw. Lance met him for a gentle kiss. He still looked worried when they broke the kiss. “I just don’t want anyone to get hurt out there, you know?”  _

_ “It’s what happens, but we’re doing our best to make sure we can avoid it.. You’re doing great Lance. You just have to let things work out sometimes..” _

* * *

“Yo, ship to Keith, do you read?” Pidge said sounding a bit annoyed. Keith jerked out of his thoughts.

“Uh, yeah sorry here’s the suit..” He set it out on the bed for her to get a look at. She rolled her eyes a bit and set her laptop down as she inspected it. 

“What’s got you all in your head anyway?” She said with a huff, feigning annoyance though her genuine curiosity was peaking through. Keith rubbed the back of his neck. 

“It’s.. Just really weird being in this room I guess..? Feels.. Wrong.” She hummed. 

“Yeah, you mentioned that you’re not used to it or whatever.” Keith gave a small nod. “What’s so different?”

“Well.. Honestly a lot. I’m… Not even in this room anymore..? I switched rooms and.. Yeah and I guess there’s more personal items and-.. And yeah that’s really it I guess.” She frowned getting a feeling that that wasn’t it. 

“Right..” Silence fell over them as she continued to prod at the suits wiring. Keith moved to lean back against the wall as he idly watched her work. In all honesty, moments like these were nice. No need to speak. Just getting to be in someone’s presence. 

* * *

 

_ Keith fiddled with his knife, messing with it and positioning it as he sat, back against the wall. Pidge was working away on some project that he honestly didn’t know nor understand. All that he really cared about was that it was late, and he didn’t want to bother Lance to go sit out on the observation deck. They’d done it a few times and it was honestly nice but.. But he couldn’t find the need to wake him up or go duke it out with the gladiator. So there he sat with his knife as Pidge worked.  _

_ It was a fine system. They’d both get company during the hours no one was awake. During the time they couldn’t find sleep for one reason or another. Sometimes Keith would even help though it mostly only went as far as him grabbing parts or holding something as she worked. Either way it was a comfort knowing there was someone there.. _

* * *

 

Pidge glanced up from her work to look at Keith, whose eyes had fallen shut. Her gaze flickered back down to the work at hand. “So.. What am I like..?” She asked hesitantly. Keith opened an eye to look at her. She tried to seem not so curious about it, but it was clear she was dying to know. Keith smiled a bit. 

“The same. A bit taller and you have longer hair, but you’re still the same as you’ve always been.” She huffed and seemed not so pleased with that answer. “Hey, it’s the truth. I don’t know what you want from me,” he said with a light laugh. 

“Nothing,” she snapped though there was no bite to her voice just edges of embarrassment. “I just-.. Lance and the others wanted to know what they’re like so.. You know.” She blew her bangs up out of her face some before they came falling back down.

“You don’t really change but you don’t need too. I mean of course you take charge more, but you’re still you and.. And in a war that’s something that’s hard to do. Stay yourself that is,” he said with a small sad smile. Pidge nods some and glances up at him again. 

“You changed. I.. I don’t think in a bad way though..? You seem more.. Open,” she said a bit stiffly as she began typing. Keith hummed in agreement. 

“Yeah, I noticed.. Well you’re all my family so.. I guess I kind of learned to be more open with everyone... And if I’m going to be honest Coran’s kind of the dad,” Keith said with a hum. “Lance tried to argue once that that was Shiro, but if you really think about it Coran’s just the crazy dad here.” That pulled a small laugh from Pidge. 

They continued to chat as Pidge worked, and just like Keith was used to, she had him help her out with what she was doing. Though the hollow feeling in his chest and the lead in his belly remained, Keith was beginning to feel more at ease in the wrong time. Things were familiar. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im so sorry about the title,,, shout out to anyone who like that mcelroy content!
> 
> ALSO!! I just wanna tell everyone who's commented on this fic that i really really appreciate it and it's been pushing me to keep writing. i just hit another depressive episode, but i got enough motivation to write up this chapter through all the love yall have shown me for this!! THANK YALL SO MUCH!!!


	6. lazy mornings and stubble

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hey so this chapter will be a bit different! You're going to get a blurb to inform you what's going on with lil' Keith in the future, but be aware that there will be a (kinda abrupt) change into other future stuff.
> 
> AKA: this is the filler mostly klance chapter of still future events but stuff that happened BEFORE the whole time travel fiasco!

“So.. You guys are going on a mission?” Keith asked with a slight frown as Pidge and Hunk were loading up their lion’s cargo holds. 

“Yeah, sorry buddy,” Hunk said with a small sad smile. Keith frowns a tad but gives a slight shrug. 

“It’s fine.. Just..” He sighed and pulled his knees closer to his chest, sitting on a crate as he watched them work. “Lance acts a bit weird around me and.. Yeah.” The other two pause in their work, Pidge leaning against a box Hunk just set down. 

“Keith.. Don’t take it too personally,” Pidge started with a small frown. “He’s just going through some rough stuff.” Keith scowled that. 

“And so am I, but you don’t see me being all weird about it!” He said with a huff. Hunk sighed. 

“Keith, you have to understand that Lance handles things a bit differently.. Not to mention he... Well it’s not my place to talk about it, but he kind of lost a lot and this whole situation is pretty rough on him. Maybe you should talk to him about it..” Keith snorted and looked away. 

“I did talk with him about this, and he’s still acting weird.” Pidge and Hunk shared a look and returned to loading the lions. 

“Look all I’m saying is maybe you should  _ really _ talk with him. He hasn’t been talking with anyone else since this whole thing began. Maybe you’ll understand where he’s coming from more,” Hunk finally concluded. 

“Anyway how about a hug before we head off,” Hunk said switching over to a more chipper tone and throwing his arms open, the last of the boxes loaded. “I’m gunna miss you buddy!! If we get our Keith back before we return, I want you to know it was good seeing little you,” he teased. Keith got off the crate he was on and a bit hesitantly went over before getting swept up with Pidge into a crushing hug. Keith smiled to himself. 

When the hug broke, Hunk sniffled. 

“Alright alright, let’s go Pidge before I really start crying.” She threw Hunk an grin and patted him on the back. 

“Hey, no more crying on me,” she said with a light laugh. Hunk sniffled again and nodded. 

“Alright, I think I’m good... See you Keith,” he said with a wave, grin plastered on his face. Pidge threw him a smile as well and a small salute before boarding her lion. 

Keith left the hangar with a small sigh. 

* * *

 

_ A few months back… _

Lance woke with a groan. He was normally the one who was up and at it or at least awake and enjoying the warmth that radiated off Keith like a furnace as he slept. Today was different. Lance did his best to blink away the sleep and hummed as Keith’s calloused hand ran along his jaw. He was not expecting to see Keith scowling at him. 

“You haven’t shaved,” he stated, scowl still on his face. Lance let his eyes fall shut again, enjoying the way Keith was rubbing the stubble along his jaw. 

“Well yeah.. Me n’ Hunk were on Soerus for days,” Lance mumbled and tried to stifle a yawn he felt coming on. “‘Sides not like I could shave then anyway..” He shifted some, throwing his arm back around Keith’s waist in an attempt to scoot him closer. Keith didn’t protest, but he did his best to duck his head down when Lance tried to nuzzle his face. 

“Aww.. Don’t like it?” Lance teased with a lazy grin. Keith frowned and didn’t say anything. There was a beat of silence before Lance pulled away from Keith, propping himself up on one arm. Keith blinked up at him. 

“Seriously though if.. If it’s a feeling that really bothers you I can go shave now..?” Lance asked with a small frown. 

“No it’s-.. It’s just.. Different? Weird. It’s not bad I-.. I kinda like how it looks. If you want to keep it.. We can try it out today. I don’t know if I like it or not, but we’ll see…?” He offered Lance a small smile who just grinned back, leaning down to tuck some hair behind Keith’s ear and press a gentle kiss to his lips. 

“How was that..? Good? Bad?” Keith hummed in thought. 

“I have to say Lance.. Your kissing game is pretty weak right now,” he teased with a smirk. Lance huffed and sat up further. 

“Oh you’re going to pay for that Kogane!” Lance grinned and swooped in to tickle Keith’s sensitive sides. Keith was left a wriggling and laughing mess. After a bit of that, Lance let up. He smiled softly down at Keith who was trying to catch his breath. Keith felt like squirming more under such a tender, loving gaze. Before he could do much else, Lance leaned down again for a gentle kiss. 

“I love you,” Lance mumbled against Keith’s lips when the kiss broke. Keith’s hands went up to Lance’s face, rubbing against the stubble before finding their way into his messy brown hair. 

“I love you so much,” Keith said breathlessly, his voice could barely be heard. With that, Keith gently pulled at Lance to bring them into another languid kiss. Lance’s hands rest themselves on Keith’s sides as he melted further into the kiss. They continued like that for a while, meeting each other for soft and slow kisses, before Lance’s stomach let out a loud gurgling. They both puffed out a laugh, and Lance dropped his head to Keith’s shoulder. 

“Food?” Keith asked, his voice light with amusement as he ran his fingers through Lance’s hair. Lance nodded against Keith’s shoulder. 

“Yeah, food..”

~~~

The castle was quiet that morning. It was not a busy day full of drills and training, nor was it a day where they were swamped with diplomatic events or planning. Pidge was still off assisting Matt and the other rebel forces rebuild some communities on Tania, a small planet that was left in disarray once freed from their residing Galran forces. Hunk was probably in a similar state as Lance, thrown off kilter by the long day cycles of Soerus. As for the others, Keith silently hoped they were relaxing. As they passed the control room, Keith could hear faint murmuring from inside the room. Well that probably answers the question of Allura and Coran. 

Lance gave Keith’s hand a small squeeze as they walked, pulling Keith from his thoughts. He glanced up at Lance and offered a small reassuring smile. Lance had been a bit worried for Keith since his last mission with the Blade. It hadn’t been a pretty one, and it left Keith a bit spacey at times. 

“So.. I was thinking maybe later today we could hit the pool? I could use some down time after that whole mission.. I swear they’re great people, but they have crazy hours and want to do everything under the sun. I could have handled one or two days fine, but a whole week out there?” Lance let out an exaggerated groan, the hint of a smile playing on his lips as he noticed Keith snort and smile at him. 

“Pool time sounds nice. First though we eat. My stomach may not be as vocal, but I could really go for a bite right about now,” Keith said and tugged him further into the kitchen. 

“Hmm.. you feeling pancakes? Because I’m feeling pancakes. I think we have some of the chocolate chip mix that you love so much left over.” Keith hummed as he nodded along. 

“Yeah, pancakes sound great.. I’ll cook up some of that bacon stuff..?” Keith let go of Lance’s hand as he headed for the large fridge in the kitchen. 

“Oooh please,” Lance said, practically drooling over the thought of that bacon. 

“Alright alright, bacon it is..” They fell silent as they began to work. There was the occasional question of having something passed over but aside from that it was just the noise of cooking. 

Once again, Keith lost himself in thought as he watched the meat cook. He startled a bit when hands wound their way around his waist. Lance placed his chin on Keith’s shoulder as he watched what he was doing. 

“Don’t worry.. S’just me..” Keith could feel the stubble on any exposed skin and tried to think of if he liked it or not. Losing track of what he was doing, Lance decided to step in and help, hand leaving Keith’s stomach to guide his hand in flipping the bacon. 

“Whatcha thinkin’ about..?” Lance asked softly. Keith couldn’t miss the faint hint of concern in his voice. 

“About your stubble.. Still don’t know if I like it or not,” he replied simply and moved to plate the bacon and turn of the burner. Even with the food done, Keith didn’t move out of Lance’s embrace. Instead he leaned back into it. 

“I think it looks nice.. Dunno about the feeling though..” Lance nuzzled the side of Keith’s face.

“What about now?” He asked with a slight grin. Keith squirmed a bit at the odd feeling but let out a light laugh. 

“Hey quit it or I’m eating all of the bacon and not sharing,” he said with a huff, trying to hide his smile. Lance whined into his ear and pulled away. A chill went up Keith’s back as the cool air replaced the warmth of Lance’s body. They went about splitting the food. Rather than head out into the dining hall, Keith sat on the counter while Lance stood in front of him. Lance began retelling stories from his mission with Hunk as he ate. 

“And so Hunk was all ‘well I think I can fix this’ and everyone was in awe because they didn’t think that was even possible, but you and I know Hunk- he’s amazing and super smart- and anyway he like gets everyone to bring some janky supplies they had and he builds this cool tool and manages to fix the whole thing!” Keith smiled down at Lance as he spoke.. And neglected to eat. 

“More food then you can keep going.” Lance made a small startled noise, completely forgetting about the whole eating food thing, and quickly scarfed down the rest. 

“Thanks for reminding me, babe,” Lance says happily once he finished and leaned up to press a kiss to Keith’s cheek. In all honesty.. It wasn’t bad. 

“Do that again..?” Keith said hesitantly. Lance just grinned at him and obliged, pressing another kiss and another to Keith’s cheeks. As the affection continued, Keith couldn’t help the laugh that bubbled up out of his chest. 

“Okay okay you can stop!” He said, trying to stop his laughter. Lance did as he asked and just beamed at him. 

“So what do you think? Stubble can stay? If you say yes I think I might actually try growing my facial hair out. How do you think I would look with a ‘stache like Coran?” He asked with a smirk and mimed twirling a mustache much like Coran would do. Keith rolled his eyes and gently pushed at Lance. 

“Don’t even think about it but-... Yeah for now the stubble can stay. It’s kind of nice,” Keith concluded with a hum and reached out to run a hand across it again. 

“Good.” Lance pulled him close and nuzzled the side of Keith’s face who did his “best” at worming his way out of Lance’s grasp. 

It was a nice slow morning..

* * *

 

_ In the present… _

Lance let out a small sigh. Once again the bed was cold. Once again he ate breakfast alone. He scratched at the stubble that was growing back as he ate his breakfast. He hoped _his_ Keith would be back soon..

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey yall!! sorry i've been pretty busy with school and any free time i've been drawing requests over on my tumblr
> 
> So!! sorry if that like jump gave yall whiplash. i was kinda stumped on what to do for this chapter and i decided, shit why only give yall little blurbs of klance and angsty hypotheticals as our boys miss each other. why not just dedicate a whole chapter to klance??? so here it is. tell me what you think. 
> 
> These even chapters will continue to be filler of sorts between the REAL plot back in the past/present. What do yall wanna see?? more looks into the future with the other characters/klance?? Do you want more keith interacting with the others??? If so who?? Let me know what yall wanna see and I'll try to make it happen!!! Thanks yall!!!


	7. so is this the end of the road?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh is the end near?? lol nah probs not. ive found little motivation/time to write this but i wanted to post this (short) chapter for now. i guess i'm making it a multi parter bc i did have more planned for this chapter, but i didn't get to writing it all. im sorry if it's shitty jfkdsla;gjsa we are getting closer to the end though!! but i have much more to say before we get there!!!
> 
> stay tuned for the next part of this!

They had been working long into the night. Well scratch that. Pidge had been working long into the night, and Keith was just getting peeks at her work and keeping her company. He was still honestly no help when it came to the more complicated tech things.. Without a word, Keith got up. Pidge’s gaze flickered over at him, but she continued her work.   
“Alright. Time for a break,” Keith announced. He stretched some, a few cracks and pops were heard. Pidge only responded with a small grunt, fingers flying across her keyboard. Keith frowned down at her and let out a sigh. 

“Seriously Pidge.. Don’t make me force you out of the room. You need to rest your eyes and get a snack,” his voice had an edge of sternness to it. Despite it all, Pidge continued to ignore him. 

“Right.. You leave me no choice,” he lamented before moving to scoop her up. He had much more ease doing with her now this than he did during his time, seeing she was still much smaller. She let out a squeal, wriggling in his grip but not breaking loose. Keith grinned a bit as he carried her out of the room and towards the kitchen. 

“You know I really hate you right now!” She shouted though there wasn’t really much bite to her voice. 

“Yeah yeah.. You wouldn’t get much work done at that point without a break. I know you more than you think,” he said with a hum. While she can get some amazing work done when she’s allowed to sit there for hours on end, the way she pawed at her eyes and shifted uncomfortably as she works gave her away. Halfway through the walk, Pidge went limp in Keith’s arms. She gave up fighting against him and allowed this whole break to happen. Once that happened, Keith set her down, knowing she had accepted her fate of taking a break for the time being. 

There was silence between them as they walked towards the kitchen. As expected, the castleship was rather silent, only the hum of the ship really giving any sort of background noise. Pidge didn’t vocalize any further protests as she sat down, waiting for Keith to drop a glass of water and a bowl of goo in front of her. Sitting down with his own glass, Keith idly watched Pidge as she tucked her legs up into her seat and lazily began eating and sipping on her drink. 

“So how much further do you think you have on the map..?” Keith asked after a moment. 

“A few more vargas I think.. The coding isn’t too complicated, but it’s really just a lot,” she said before trying to hide a yawn behind her hand. Keith nodded with a hum. 

“Hopefully then we can find that thing and get everything set right,” he said with a sigh, reaching a hand up to push his fingers through his hair. Pidge silently nodded. 

Again silence fell over them. It wasn’t unwelcome, though many questions and worries hung in the air unvoiced. Eventually, Pidge pushed her bowl away and picked up her glass, leaning back in her seat some and eyeing Keith. She took a sip, and he cocked an eyebrow at her, moving to hold his chin in the palm of his hand. 

“Soooo…” she started, shifting a bit in her seat. 

“So..?” Keith moved a bit closer, this time raising both eyebrows.   
“So, I know we’re not supposed to ask about the future and all, buuut.. what’s up with you and Lance?” She asked finally. Keith frowned a bit and shifted again in his seat, unsure of how to answer that. 

“Out of all the questions..” He said under his breath with a slight shake to his head. “Is it that noticeable?” That got a snort from Pidge as she took another sip of her drink.

“I mean it’s definitely noticeable that something is different between you two.. I could make some educated guesses if you want, but ‘dunno.. I’m just curious is all.. I mean you probably know this anyway, but you two are like brothers to me...  I’m happy that right now you-er our Keith and Lance are getting along a lot better, but.. Yeah..?” She offered a slight shrug. Keith tapped his fingers on the table for a moment as he thought.

“I’m not sure how much I want to tell you, but yeah we are a lot closer. Uhh.. Like… A  _ lot _ closer.” He shifted awkwardly again. When he looked over to Pidge, he was met with a bit of a starry-eyed look. 

“I won’t tell him! Don’t worry but-!.. That’s sweet..” She smothered her smile by shoveling a mouthful of food goo in her mouth. “Anyway it’s nice to know you two aren’t annoying asses all the time in the future with the arguing,” she said around a mouthful of food. Keith smiled fondly and shook his head.

“Okay, but so now that my curiosity for that has been fed I gotta know more about if I build a better Rover or not.”

* * *

By the time the team was all up and about, Pidge had finished the coding for the map. She was still iffy if it would work, but that’s why they were going to test it out asap. Lance kept to the sidelines as Pidge excitedly rambled about the updates to their suit’s tech. Keith’s gaze flickered to him from time to time, a concerned frown in place.

“But yeah there was a LOT more programming that future Keith’s suit has, but I didn’t even begin to touch it all. As much as I’d want to spend days just reprogramming in texting and stuff, we don’t really have that time. Besides it all seemed like nonessentials. Buuut that’s what we have to see.” She dropped her arms to the side and glanced to Keith and then to Allura and Shiro.

“I think we should get back on that planet and test it out,” she adds after a moment. Allura and Shiro nodded in agreement.

“Alright team, I say that we head out again. I don’t think it’s clear just yet to send Keith out there, especially with Galra threats.. Not that I don’t trust in your skill, I just think we should play it safe until we’re sure we have a visual on this thing and a clear path to it,” Shiro said, glancing to Keith at the end. 

“Yes, I agree. We have no clue what could happen if Keith is put into danger. I say we send out Hunk and Pidge to test out the map planetside. As for Lance and Shiro, you two should remain ready to act if they need your backup,” she said with a curt nod. After a moment they left to go get suited up. 

Keith sighed and went to sit in his seat in the control room, feeling much too tired at the moment. Allura idly watched him for a moment. 

“I know you must want to get in on the action right now, but it really is best if you stay put,” she said with a small frown of her own. Keith ran a hand down his face. 

“Yeah, I know.. Which is what makes this even more frustrating.. I’m kinda the one with the most experience out of all of us, and I can’t even be there for my team because if anything happens to me it could.. Mean the jeopardy of the mission. I’m a sitting duck until things are clear..” 

“Well.. Let’s hope they’re successful.” Allura offers him a small smile of which he returns.

* * *

Keith must have dozed off after his conversation with Allura, still slumped in his chair. He didn’t really stir until he felt a light touch on his shoulder. He groaned and shifted a bit, muscles aching and joints protesting his position. Once again his shoulder was touched and given a light shake. Keith relented, no longer able to stay asleep. He let out a groan, leaving his eyes shut for the moment.

“Shit,” he hissed as he sat up in his seat. There was the clanking of armor on armor and he became quickly aware he wasn’t wearing his. Finally, Keith cracked his eyes open. Lance stood in front of him, shifting his weight from one foot to the other nervously. 

“Uh, hey Keith.. Sorry to wake you up just uhm.. Do you want me to walk you to your room? We can handle things alright, and if we need you I’ll come get you just.. You didn’t look so comfortable..?” Damn right he wasn’t. Keith reached up to rub his neck, trying to stretch out the crick in it. 

“Shit.. Yeah that’s.. Probably a good idea..” Keith let out a long sigh and got up, a joint or two popping as he did so. He’ll probably need another boost when he gets back to the castle in his time.. Plus a nice massage..

“You know, you’re kinda old,” Lance commented as they started out of the control room, suddenly wishing he’d just put his fucking foot in his mouth for a moment. Keith just snorted.

“Yeah.. This shit kinda happens when you’re saving the universe for years on end.. At least there are breaks from time to time..” Keith stretched a bit more as they walked. 

“It helps we have shit to help keep the deterioration at bay, but shit isn’t ever really the same once you get blasted in the gut or blow out your elbow,” he said a bit bitterly. His expression smoothed a bit. He looked over to Lance. “But hey.. It’s all worth it.”

“Shit, yeah I imagine that’s.. Rough. Explains all the scars.. I mean like yeah we’re in the middle of a war and scars seem kinda inevitable but… Yeah.” Lance fidgeted a bit. He was feeling self-conscious. 

“But anyway I guess you know where everything is, but as long as I’m still on the ship, if you need anything just.. Come get me?” They came to a stop in front of Keith’s door.

“Yeah, I will.. Thanks Lance.” Lance offered him a cheeky grin, confidence coming back again.

“No problem spaceman. See you in a bit.. And seriously rest up!” And like that Lance scurried off leaving Keith to sleep. He let out a small sigh and opened the door.. Hopefully things work out..


	8. never far from home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While the team in the past works on getting both Keith's home, older Lance and Keith spend some time together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> there's nothing romantic between older lance and younger keith you nASTies.. anyway i finally managed to get another chapter out. thank you so much for your love and patience

_Lance let out a small sigh. Once again the bed was cold. Once again he ate breakfast alone. He scratched at the stubble that was growing back as he ate his breakfast. He hoped his_ _Keith would be back soon.._

* * *

Keith wandered into the kitchen after saying his goodbyes to Hunk and Pidge, who were off on a mission, dropping of plenty of supplies on a planet the name of which Keith couldn’t remember. He planned on heading to the training deck, but decided on a quick snack before he did so. It was still early and he didn’t remember eating yet..

Lance sighed, dropping his plate into the cleaning receptacle, which the others had dubbed the dishwasher against Coran’s explanation of what it was. He had nothing to do which was frustrating beyond belief and would no doubt lead to him looking over photos and mission logs and so on. Maybe he could dig up some old chat logs between him and Keith and-.. And maybe he did just want to cry it out a little. Maybe he was being ridiculous but you try going 10 or so years with someone at your side and then suddenly losing that.. Lance was quickly pulled from his thoughts as someone else entered the kitchen. A quick look up and Lance caught sight of Keith.. The younger, very much not his husband, Keith. Lance shuffled a bit in place and shut the receptacle. 

“Hey, Keith,” he said a bit stiffly. Keith froze and met Lance’s gaze, quickly breaking it to duck his head down. 

“Sorry, I just-.. Snack? Training- uhm..” He did his own sort of awkward shuffle and glanced around, unsure of where exactly he was getting his food. 

“Oh.. Do you want me to get you something?” Lance walked across the room as he spoke, and as he did so Keith got a full view of Lance. He was in lounging clothes, much more casual than the Lance he was used to, dressing out in a matching pajama set from the paladins of old. This time Lance was wearing a simple shirt and shorts, long legs exposed and showing the robotic prosthetic that made up most of his right leg. It startled Keith at first but he quickly looked away, not wanting to make things awkward. 

“U-Uhm yes.. Thanks..” Keith’s mind couldn’t help but wonder what happened to Lance. A voice in the back of his head wondered if it was possible to prevent whatever event caused that.. Maybe if he knew then-

“So I’d offer to make you some fucking  _ amazing _ pancakes, but if you’re working out soon we have some protein bars and this yogurt stuff if you want?” Lance said, leaning partway into what Keith assumed was a food pantry. “We have your favorite flavor..” That statement sent Keith reeling again. Of course.. They’ve all lived together for this long, and it’d be no wonder that Lance knows what flavor is his favorite. 

“Sure.. Thanks again,” Keith mumbled and silently accepted the chocolate protein bar that was placed in his hand a moment later. The silence continued as Keith opened the package, and Lance idly watched on. It was broken, though, a moment or two later by Lance.

“You mind if I come train with you? I’ve got nothing to do today anyway.. Aaand I promise I’ll go easy on you.” Though there was an awkward air to the way he acted around Keith, his teasing manners returned at this statement.

“No need.. I’m sure I can take you on,” Keith said after taking a bite of the bar, feeling the need to butt heads right back. Lance smirked.

“Ooooh Keith-y boy you’re going to  _ regret _ saying that,” Lance chided. Keith shot him a bit of a glare at the nickname. 

“You’re on, old man.” Lance’s eyes went wide and he let out a small gasp. 

“You take that back!! I’m  _ not old.”  _ Lance whined some, putting on a show of slumping over a bit with a pout.  

“Prove it then,” Keith challenged, small smile of his own forming.

\---

They were both suited up, Lance in his paladin uniform, a modified and blacked out version of the one that Keith was used to, and Keith was in the older paladin uniforms that had been tucked away safely years back. Lance stood proudly in the middle of the training deck, original rifle form of his bayard resting on his shoulder. Keith already had his bayard powered up and was ready to get things started. Lance had laid down some ground rules already.

“Alright, now I know you think this will be a one v one kind of thing,  _ but _ that doesn’t quite work.. At least not with one of us going long range and the other with a close range weapon.  _ That _ is why I set up a training simulation that pits us against bots. Last one standing and with the most kills wins,” Lance says with a wide grin. He brings his bayard down to rest in the palm of his other hand and as he does so, it flashes brightly and morphs shapes, looking much more sleek. 

Keith rolls his neck before nodding. “Let’s do this.”

The onslaught of enemy bots and their skill level was.. More that Keith was used to. When he thought he was finally getting the hang of their fighting style and defending himself, he caught a glimpse of Lance, not breaking a sweat as he shot down one bot after another. They didn’t even come close to touching him whereas Keith was shoving and kicking bots away every so often. 

Keith tripped at some point, stumbling back and falling on his ass as he was surrounded. He braced for impact and when none came, he opened his eyes. He was surrounded by downed bots which were quickly dropped through the floor. Keith scrambled to turn and look at Lance who looked as casual as ever. 

“What’d I say? You couldn’t handle it.. Don’t forget I have like.. 9 years of saving the universe on you. Next time don’t call me an old man, got it?” Lance smirked and after a brief pause he dismissed his bayard and reached out to help Keith up. Keith hesitated but took his hand and was quickly pulled to his feet. 

“If you want we can do some easier exercises..? Or I’ll just let you go against the training bot on your own,” he said with a hum. Keith adjusted his grip on his bayard as he shrugged.

“I might just.. Go against the bot? You… Don’t have to leave though?” He offered another shrug. 

“Sure thing.. I’m going to sit for a bit then,” he said, nodding behind him before making his way over to the wall. He pressed a few buttons there and a bench slid out from a place Keith didn’t know a bench even was. After a moment he called out for the simulation to begin as Lance dropped down onto the bench with a slight huff. 

\---

As Keith brought down the bot for the third time, he caught sight of Lance again. A small screen was projected above the wrist of his suit and he flicked through something that was displayed on it. Keith panted a bit and reached a hand under his visor to wipe away sweat. 

“What’s that?” He called out to Lance who startled a bit. Lance quickly pressed a button on his wrist to end the projection before answering Keith. 

“Just a bunch of archived logs. Anything we say over the comms and stuff gets transcribed and saved.. Also photos and videos are saved… Wanna see some funny ones?” Keith paused for a moment but nodded, jogging over to Lance to get a look. 

* * *

_ {Begin Audio Log} _

_ Keith..?  _

_ Hey… Hey how are you? How’s the team? _

_ Everyone’s good.. I miss you. _

_ Yeah, I know… I miss you, too.  _

_ How much longer do you have with the blade? Just a few quintent, right? _

_ [Sigh] I-.. I have to stay longer. Few more quintent than we thought. I wanna be home.. _

_ I know… _

_ I’ll be back before you know it though. _

_ [Sigh] ..Right. _

_ I’m not too far anyway.  _

_ [Snort] Keith, you’re in a whole fucking different star system. I’m surprised our communicators are even working at this point.  _

_ Hey, don’t underestimate Pidge. _

_ Yeah, yeah. Just-.. Just how are you not too far away? Seriously Kogane you have some explaining to do. Maybe you should leave the math to Pidge.  _

_ Well, we can still talk. You.. Well, you have pictures of me- and don’t pretend you don’t take them when I’m not looking. I know you do.. But I’m still there with you. You have our conversations to look back on- _

_ Your nasty shirt still smells like you.  _

_ [Laugh] Yeah, I bet.. _

_ …I guess you are still here in.. A weird way. _

_ Exactly.. So, uhm, hey could you talk me to sleep again? It’s… Quiet here, and I miss your voice. _

_ Sure thing, baby. _

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> also so it's clear the log at the emd was what lance was looking at NOT what he shows past keith.. and each line is switching the person so it ends on lance speaking!


	9. it's time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the past, the team finally locates the whereabouts of this mysterious box..

Keith woke for the second time that day. He was curled up in bed when he was gently shaken awake. Keith mumbled a bit in his sleep, not wanting to wake up just yet. “Mmnn.. Not now Lance..” The shaking stopped and Keith nuzzled his pillow. 

“Keith?” He let out a small sigh and blearily blinked up at Lance’s figure.. Though it was.. Greatly different and-.. And right he’s doing that again. He groaned and rubbed his eyes. 

“Sorry, sorry.. What is it?” He asked, sitting up with a yawn and cracking his back a bit. 

“They found it.” Keith was suddenly wide awake. He threw off the blankets and shot up. 

“You guys did?” Lance threw him a grin though there was a wavering uncertainty to his excitement, hidden in his eyes. 

“Yep! You can go home now and our Keith can come back and-.. And, uhm, yeah!” There was that tremble again. Something that spoke volumes to Keith after knowing Lance so long. Keith’s own wide excited look dimmed some, and he reached out to place a hand on Lance’s shoulder. 

“Lance.. What’s wrong?” His smile quivered, but he kept it plastered there. 

“Nothing,” he said with a half hearted shrug. Keith frowned and moved to sit back down on the bed. 

“Something’s definitely wrong.. Lance, please just-.. Just tell me what it is?” It took a moment for Lance to break out of character, his shoulders drooping as he reluctantly dropped down to sit beside Keith. 

“I.. Kind of like how things are... I mean it’s weird, and I guess I want our, uh,  _ you _ back, but..” Keith raised an eyebrow at him. 

“But…?” Lance let out a small huff in frustration.

_ “But _ I like how much nicer you are now.. I don’t really want to go back to like.. Butting heads and guessing games. I mean sure me and, uh, you? Keith? Fuck.. Whatever but we’re getting along a lot better, but I just.. Want to stop worrying about things.” Keith’s expression softened a good bit. 

“Well.. Things take time. It’s not like we both just.. Suddenly got along and became best friends. It takes time. I know it’s rough not having someone to talk to, so.. Take that step more often. Seek others out.. It took me a long time to be able to just do that to everyone. You know what it’s like to try to make a connection with others so... Give younger me a chance. I’ll no doubt be kind of bullheaded and closed off, but just work with me.” Lance nodded a bit as he thought it over. 

“Okay... Right, yeah I’ll try.” Keith patted him on the back and got up with a stretch.

“Alright.. Let’s head out then, yeah? I can’t wait to get home.” A warm smile spread across Keith’s face. It hadn’t been that long for him away from  _ his _ team, but it felt like ages. 

\---

By the time Keith, with Lance having piloted him, had touched down, the others were jittery and anxiously waiting for his arrival at the mouth of the cave. Shiro had already made it there and stood with the others. He didn’t really expect the sad or anxious looks he got. 

“Guys, you act like you won't see me again,” Keith said with a light chuckle. He didn’t voice the fear, that had swept across the others as well, that things could go very wrong and.. Well and they may never actually see him again. Allura looked a bit worried herself but send a small smile Keith’s way.

“We just want to make sure you do make it back in one piece and the other Keith does as well,” she said simply, speaking for the others. 

“I’ll be fine.. I’ve lived through worse.” That simple statement sent a flinch through some of the others. The implications of his words speaking volumes. “Anyway I know Hunk is dying for this, so are we going to do a group hug or..?” He opened his arms a bit, all too used to the hugs and closeness. It took a while to become really used to, but at this point it was second nature to have a (sometimes snotty and teary eyed) group hug before some big departure. 

Hunk didn’t have to be told twice, and he quickly swept the others to Keith for a bone crushing group hug. Keith tried his best to hug back but was squeezed in the middle of it all. Lance was at his side, face pressed to his shoulder. He caught a glimpse of a smudged blush on his cheeks. When the hug broke, Keith rolled his shoulders with a lazy grin. 

“It was nice getting to see everyone like this again..” Again heavy implications fell upon the others and a feeling of unease settled deep in their guts. “So.. Let’s get this show on the road, yeah?” There were a few nods, and Pidge proudly began leading the group. Coran and Shiro hung behind, saying brief goodbyes to Keith as he passed with the others. 

It was odd being back in the cave. Maybe it was the fact he was running through last time and never got a chance to really look, or maybe time really did change it, but the cave looked.. different. It wasn’t a red flag, but more of an observation that had Keith staring at the walls as they passed through. The distant sounds of trickling water and the dull glow of some plants within had him mesmerized. 

They finally reached a chamber within the cave. The walls glowed softly with markings. It was reminiscent of the day they found Blue, though it was a dull, pulsating white rather than a bright solid blue glow. Keith brushed his gloved fingers along the slick walls. He never noticed markings last time, but once again he was in such a rush last time that it must not have registered. The glow pulsed brighter before dimming again. 

“What is all of this?” Lance asked in awe, as he spun slowly on his heel, taking in the markings. 

“It’s writing.. Some.. Something I cannot read, but it looks familiar of sorts. The people are long gone as we know.. At least from this planet, but... But this is still here,” Allura spoke in a hushed voice. Her eyes flickered across the cave walls before settling on the box that was carefully positioned on a pedestal.

“My question is, why haven’t the Galra used this yet?” Pidge asked as she inspected the box, careful not to touch it. It seemed to be made out of the same stone of the cave, but gave of an energy signature that Keith’s suit, and now Pidge’s, picked up unlike the rest of the cave. It was small, easily held in two hands and was covered in similar markings to that of the room of the cave they were currently in. 

“Maybe they just never picked it up.. You know how much of a maze this place is and.. Maybe they just never found it..?” Pidge nodded a bit as she continued to think. 

“Right.. So.. Keith how does it work?” Her eyes lit up as she looked expectantly at Keith. He quickly threw his hands up in defence. 

“I don’t know! I just.. Picked it up last time when I was talking with Lance and then.. Then I woke up in the past.” Pidge frowned at his lame answer. 

“How insightful,” she deadpanned with a roll of her eyes. “Well, I guess we should let him touch the box then,” she said with a heavy sigh. 

“Maybe we should leave the room,” Lance piped up, he had a palm pressed to the wall and glanced back over his shoulder to the others. He was given quizzical looks. He flushed a bit and averted his gaze. “I mean, the box and the room match.. What if it’s just like.. The controller to a whole time travel room?” He let his hand drop to his side. 

“I agree with Lance.” Keith honestly didn’t know what to do in this situation, but he knew Lance always seemed to have some sort of insight that no one could really pick up on. He’d trust Lance with his life, and he’d trust his judgement calls on missions. Past or not this held no room for exceptions. With Keith’s backup, the others nodded along slowly filing out. Lance had a bit of a wide eyed look that he gave Keith, not even moving to the mouth of the room yet. 

“Why’d you agree?” He asked a bit quietly. Keith shrugged casually. 

“You’re always right with things like this.. Just like how Hunk’s always right with his judgment of others.. At least initially. Doesn’t mean they can’t change,” he said with a slight hum. Lance’s face broke out into a huge grin. He puffed out his chest in pride. 

“Of  _ course _ I’m always right,” he said cockily as he headed for the entrance. Keith playfully rolled his eyes. He never will change, but he loves him for that. 

“Alright, get out of here before we have  _ another _ situation on our hands involving time travel.”

With the room finally clear, Keith turned his back to the others and approached the pedestal that held the box. He let out a steady breath and closed his eyes for a moment. He thought of his team waiting for him on the other end of this whole fiasco. His warm bed and even warmer husband. His family.. Keith cracked his eyes open and, with slightly trembling hands, he reached out to grab the box. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> dun dun duuUUN!!! tune in next time for what happens next ;3c okay so there's going to be one more chapter set in the future (im imagining it'll be longer than this) and then i'll probably throw in an epilogue. though!!! expect some one shots set in universe yall!! because i'm really not done with this au jkflda just done with the time travel bs... so is there anything y'all'd like to see??? more older klance fluff?? keith meeting the family?? wedding shit??? younger keith and lance getting together??? i like how all of these sound but tell me what yall think!!


	10. ive traveled across time and space for you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith spends his final days (plural) in the future, learns a few things, and everything settles down.

Keith’s laughter died on his tongue after a moment. Lance had been showing him some funny photos and video clips on the small screen that was projected from the wrist of his suit. It was a nice little distraction, but, not for the first time that day since seeing it, Keith’s attention wandered back to Lance’s prosthetic. Keith never had the chance to fix things with Shiro. Never had the chance to warn him not to go. Never got the opportunity to prevent the atrocities that happened to him, but now, with Lance, he had this sort of chance. If he just knew  _ how _ it happened, maybe he could prevent it from ever occurring. 

“Hey Lance..” Lance’s laughter died down as well, noticing how somber the mood suddenly was.

“Yeah, Keith?” His voice was quieter than before, and if Keith really tried he could have picked up the edge of concern in his voice.

“How-.... What happened to your leg?” Keith frowned deeply, scowling a bit as he met his gaze with Lance’s. For Lance it was like a shot of ice went down his spine. He swallowed thickly and dismissed the screen once again. 

“Keith that-.. I can’t tell you.” His look went stern and a bit unreadable, not like Keith was skilled at reading expressions to begin with. Still, Keith pushed on, scowling harder.

“But why not? I- I can stop it from ever happening! If you only tell me all.. All of the bad shit that happens to you guys I can stop it. I can help everyone and- and-” Keith was cut off.

“No,” Lance began sternly, quickly rising to his feet. This caused Keith to quickly backpedal. He didn’t notice when he started standing tall above Lance’s sitting form, but now he was forced back as Lance got up and turned to hide the bench away again. Lance spoke up again.

“I can not and  _ will not  _ tell you what happens. That’s fucking that. What happened, sure, wasn’t my ideal, but I just-... Just don’t try to find out, okay? I’m perfectly fine now, sans a leg or whatever. Just-” Lance took in a sharp breath. He dropped his shoulders and gave Keith a blank look. “Just keep your nose out of our shit for now, okay?” 

Like that Keith was left, alone, on the training deck. He was more confused than ever and... And honestly hurt..

\---

A few quintent later, Hunk and Pidge return from their mission. They’re rather chipper though Pidge loudly complains about one thing or another. Keith honestly doesn’t know what’s being said as they talk at the dining table after their debriefing. He doesn’t catch the fact that their gaze flickers from Keith, to Lance, and finally to one another. He doesn’t notice the concerned frowns from everyone, some well hidden and others blatantly there. Keith keeps his head down and picks at his food, eventually dismissing himself when the meal is about over for the others. He also doesn’t catch Pidge’s loud sigh as he leaves. 

To say he was a bit startled when a hand grabs onto his arm would be a bit of an understatement. Keith whips around, eyes wide, and ready to attack. Though his posture slackens as he notices it’s just Pidge.. Pidge who’s easily his height and is shooting him a bit of a glare. 

“Alright, you’re coming with me. You’re going to sit in my workshop and tell me what the fuck is up. Hunk and I leave, and of course, everything goes to shit  _ again. _ Really, I thought we were done with this..” She huffs and pulls him along down the hallway and to an elevator. “You’re lucky I didn’t let Shiro give you a talk,” she grumbles. Keith just silently stares on. 

She doesn’t demand anything from him as they make their way through hallways to a room he honestly never went to before. She does lightly shove him off to sit in one of the chairs in the room. He trips over a couple things as he stumbles over to the chair and sits down hard once he’s there. He looks back towards her, and she already is sitting and pulled herself closer. 

“Alright. Spill.” A simple request.

“I... Lance.. Lance just isn’t talking to me.” Keith offered a small shrug to go with his lie. Pidge’s eyes narrow at him from behind her owlish glasses.

“Wrong answer. I’d believe that, but Lance is being  _ too _ mopey. Sure he’s being a big fucking baby lately, but he’s being even more extra right now,” she says with a slight snort, though the way she speaks gives way to her concern. 

“...I asked about his leg,” Keith said softly after a moment. “I.. I asked what happened because I wanted to be able to prevent it. I wanted-.. Wanted to help.” He sounded so small and looked even smaller to Pidge as he curled up on himself, arms crossed almost like he was hugging himself. “And he hasn’t talked to me since.” Pidge let out a long sigh, leaning back in her chair. 

“Right... Look, Keith, it’s nothing personal against you. Lance.. Went through some shit. We all did, but I don’t think he really wants to alter what happened. I’d say by all means stop my stupid ass from letting this happen,” she says and kicks out a leg, much like Lance she has a prosthetic, though hers just goes up to the knee. “But honestly if you did I think it would lead to more shit for the team. Sure I lost something one day, but the others would have lost more.. Lance.. Lance cares a whole fucking lot, and you just have to understand that that whole  _ thing _ that led to him losing his leg, is personal and something he doesn’t think he can redo without that loss. Am I making any sense?” Keith nodded slightly and fidgeted a bit. 

“I guess..” She hummed with a slight nod at his response. 

“Cool!” She shot up out of her seat and looked to Keith. “So, wanna keep me company while I work on some stuff?” Keith smiled a bit and snorted.

“Of course there was another reason you brought me here.” Pidge waved him off. 

“Now you’re getting it!”

* * *

_ One day/quintent later.. _

Keith found himself wandering down a hallway when Allura came rushing around a corner. Nearly colliding into one another, she reached out to hold onto Keith’s shoulders, steadying both of them. Her eyes were wide and her hair was pulled back into a messy bun. She looked.. Casual. Rather than her typical gowns, she was decked out in much more  _ Earthian _ clothes. Pants, simple shirt, and a cardigan. Nothing fancy or ridiculous.  Allura shot him an apologetic smile. 

“So sorry Keith, I guess I was in a bit of a rush and didn’t see you there!” Her hands fell from his shoulders and one shot up to tuck of curly hair behind her ear. “If you don’t have much to do, would you like to join me?” Keith shuffled a bit and shrugged. 

“Uh, yeah sure..? What exactly are you doing?” Allura brightened up at that and waved him along, continuing on her previous path. 

“Well, we’ve sort of been setting up fun little things to do as a whole group, especially with being out here. Even though things haven’t been going quite as planned, I thought we could still have a nice day together. That being said, I’m going to set things up for the movies and games,” she said giddily and shot Keith a happy look. “Hunk and Lance are working on the snacks right now,” she explained idly as she picked up the pace. 

Keith did his best to keep up with her. Well keeping up with her pace wasn’t too hard, but when it came to what the fuck was going on, he was a bit lost. So they did like.. Movie/game nights in the future? But what was that line of ‘especially with being out here’ for? Keith was swamped in his own thoughts and nearly crashed into Allura again when she came to a stop. They were in the lounge. The memories of post group training sessions or after missions came to mind. As his mind wandered some he noticed that Shiro was there, casually arranging pillows and blankets on the couches. Shiro looked up from his work.

“Hey Keith.” He gave a small nod seeing his hands were full. He looked  _ relaxed. _ More relaxed than Keith had seen him in a  _ long _ time. Much like Allura he was dressed casually and had the long tuft of white bangs pinned back. He gently tossed a pillow down and draped the blanket in his hand along the back of one of the couches before stepping away to admire his work. He glanced up to Allura. 

“You gunna set things up from here?” He asked with a raised eyebrow. His gaze flickered over to Keith. 

“Yep! I think I know  _ just _ the thing to get everyone’s spirits up again.” Keith felt like she meant a specific person when she said ‘everyone’. 

“Alright.. I’ll probably stick around and maybe help before I go off to drag Pidge out of her cave,” he said with a snort. 

Allura nodded and was off to work. She pulled a cube from the pocket of her cardigan and, with her free hand, pressed a few buttons on a panel on the wall. She pushed the cube into an opening and moved back to drop down on the couch. Once again she produced a small object, this time it seemed to be a remote. As she was busy with that, Keith got pulled aside by Shiro.

“How are you holding up?” He asked softly and offered a gentle smile. Keith gave a half shrug.

“I’m alright... All of this is still a bit.. Weird but I’m fine.” Shiro reached out to give his shoulder a small squeeze. 

“Alright. Let me know if you need anything, nugget.” His hand moved up to ruffle Keith’s hair playfully as he walked away, the edges of a smirk on his lips. Keith huffed and shot him a look. 

“Will do, asshole,” Keith called out after him with a slight smirk of his own. There was so much going on lately back in his time that they fell out of that brotherly dynamic, and, yeah, he missed that.. Even if it meant Shiro bringing up the teasing nicknames from the past. 

\---

Lance pushed himself up onto the countertop with a long drawn out sigh. Hunk didn’t look up from his work, but he did hum in question. Lance sighed louder as he leaned back a bit. 

“What’s up?” Hunk finally asked, eyes flickering up from the snacks he was putting out on a tray. Coran had tried to help and offered some oddities like before, but Lance had been kind enough to get Coran out of there before they were given something even more strange. 

“I’m bored and lonely, and I want Keith baaack,” he whined, putting on theatrics though he really was upset by it all. Hunk set down the bag of popcorn they had from their last visit to Earth. 

“Lance.. C’mon buddy, he’ll be back soon enough. Besides I’m going to be real with you right now and tell you that you’re being a bit over the top lately. This whole situation isn’t any better for any of us, especially little Keith, so we have to make the best of it.” Lance ducked his head a bit and kicked his feet some.

“Sorry…” Hunk let out a small sigh.

“Hey, look.. I get you.. I mean me and Shay don’t even get to see each other as much as you guys do. It  _ sucks _ so I get it.. But you can’t let it turn you into an asshole.” Lance let out a loud groan. 

“Shit, sorry man you’re right.. I just.. I guess I’ve been stressed out and mom has been calling me, and I’ve had to lie to her about where Keith is- and you know I don’t like lying to her and-... Yeah but that’s no excuse..” Hunk made his way over to pull Lance into a tight hug. Lance tucked his head under Hunk’s chin and melted into the embrace. 

“It’s going to be alright…” Hunk pulled away after a moment with a lopsided grin. “Soooo lets go out there and watch some movies, yeah?” Lance perked up some, partially forced though he did actually want to have a good time. 

“Hell yeah!” He whooped and helped Hunk plate the rest of the snacks before carrying them out.

\---

The whole movie night went well. Keith had never really been part of a thing like this, and while it was overwhelming at times it was honestly welcome. He was squished between Hunk and Pidge for the most part, and actually enjoyed the movies they watched. Most of them were comedies some from Earth, and some from other places across the universe. Snacks were passed around or pelted at others. Overall it was cozy and so full of love. Keith smiled to himself through most of it, tucking himself into a small space and laughing loudly with the others. 

Keith couldn’t wait to do this more often..

* * *

_ A few more days/quintent later.. _

Time had felt like it passed slow. He often found himself training or tucked into a corner of Pidge and Hunk’s workshop as they worked away. One day Matt came around, and Keith spent a while watching him, Hunk, and Pidge work. It wasn’t really anything to write home about, but he supposes it was better than constantly being under attack or running around to build the coalition. 

Wanting to play some games or go swim or  _ something, _ Keith sought out Lance. Eventually, he found his way to Lance’s room and knocked on the door. He sighed when there was no immediate response to his light knocking and let his hand rest on the wall beside the door. After a second, the doors slid open and-.. Lance was not at the door though he did hear talking. 

Being told to not just walk into places be damned, Keith stepped into the room. It was very homey, pictures and video clips projected from small disks and printed out photos taped here and there. The bed was a bit rumpled and there Lance laid, back to Keith and the door, with a tablet in hand as he spoke softly to someone.

It was possibly too hard for Keith to understand, but after a moment he picked up onto the fact that Lance and whoever he was speaking with were talking in Spanish. His eyebrows shot up. I mean maybe he shouldn’t be surprised that they probably had contact back on Earth but still. 

“Uh..” Lance quickly sat up, eyes going wide as he saw Keith. He quickly said goodbye to whoever he was talking to and powered down the tablet before addressing Keith. 

“What are you doing in here?” Lance asked frantically. His eyes flickered from Keith to the many many photos and personal belongings around the room. Keith’s eyes flit around again and landed on a familiar, yet worn, red leather jacket. He quickly looked away. 

“Uh- uhm.. The door just.. Opened?” He squeaked out, eyes going wide as well. Lance softly cursed and dropped the tablet, bringing his hands up to rub his temples. 

“I was hoping we could avoid this..” Keith couldn’t help but look around more as Lance tried to calm down some. “Fuuuuck!”

Keith gulped as the pieces started to fall into place. Lance and him were together in the future. It explained at least why the room he was sleeping in was so.. Bare compared to the other rooms. It explained why the fuck all his shit was in this room and y’know not in the one he had been staying in. It explained why Lance was so anxious to get  _ his _ Keith back it-

“Okay okay, so uh yeah.. Well this is just one big fucking mess!” Lance let his hand drop into his lap. He heaved a sigh before crawling out of bed. Keith was frozen in place. He opened his mouth to speak before snapping it shut. He repeated that a few times before Lance was standing up in front of him, uncomfortably shifting from one foot to another. He looked like he hadn’t gotten out of bed yet for the day, hair ruffled and still in pajamas. 

“We’re together? I-I mean older me and you are-” Keith began spluttering, face going almost as red as his lion. Lance grimaced a bit. 

“Shit, I was hoping you wouldn’t find out..” Lance sighed and looked up at the ceiling. “Well, I’m really hoping this is a fucking stable time loop,” he said with a grimace. Keith was still reeling from this information. God he.. He never really thought about this that much, but the thought.. Kind of warms his heart. 

“Are.. Are we just dating or-” Before he could continue his thought Lance cut him of and tutted. 

“Hey, you know we’re together in the future and that’s all I’m giving you.. Who knows how much I’ve already fucked up. Just.. Yeah, just... Let’s uh.. Take a walk?” Keith gave him a puzzled look but trailed after him as he left the room, as if he was a lost puppy. 

“Sooo yeah that’s a whole thing that happened. Anyway, a  _ lot _ can change in like ten years,” Lance said with a snort and ran his fingers through his hair. “God, Allura’s going to kill me if she finds out I let this slip this easy..” 

“I’ll.. I’ll keep it to myself.. No one has to know,” Keith said quietly. The information was still hard to process, but he knows it’s best to keep his mouth shut about all of this. 

“Right right.. Uh, hey wanna play some games or something?” Lance looked uneasy but offered a small smile. After a second of hesitation, Keith nodded. Things’ll be alright..

\---

Keith felt like he had been in the future for forever.. After the whole uh..  _ fiasco _ with Lance, Keith had fallen into a better groove with the others. Though it felt a bit more awkward from time to time, there was less tension between them all. He did often give into his boredom, such as now. Lying awake in bed for hours, staring up at the ceiling or fiddling with his knife. There really wasn’t much to do for him anyway. 

Keith let out a loud sigh and shifted in bed, rolling over onto his side with a scowl. He had a headache coming on. It was dull at first but after a few minutes, it grew more intense and sharp. With a groan, he buried his face in the pillow. Shit, he should probably go talk with Coran.. Get something to fix this... Before he could get up, though, everything went white. 

\---

Keith woke up, head dully throbbing. He registered that he was in bed and groaned, rolling around in bed some. He doesn’t ever really remember falling asleep.. Well no he does faintly. They had finished up a mission, and he went to bed and-

“Keith?!” Keith shot up in bed and cursed, head throbbing further. He blurrily blinked and why the  _ fuck _ was Lance in his room??

“Lance, what the fuck are you doing in my room?” Lance grinned widely and got up out of a chair he must have brought in there. He was quick to make it to Keith’s side and leaned in close. 

“Oh, man I’m so glad you’re awake you have no idea how much we missed you- I mean future you was really cool, cooler than you- wait does that work?? Well anyway,  _ he _ was cool, but I’m so happy to see you?” He spoke too fast for Keith to understand and honestly what he was saying made no fucking sense. 

“Future me?? What the fuck are you talking about?” Keith reached up to rub at his temples. Lance’s look dimmed some for a moment. 

“Wait, you mean you didn’t go to the future?? Where the heck were you then? I mean..” Lance snapped his mouth shut with a scowl as he tried to piece things together. There was an odd familiarity to the mention of being in the future. It was too fuzzy to really get, but.. It sounded right? It felt right? 

“I.. I don’t know I mean.. For some reason that sounds right but.. I.. Mmm.. I don’t remember that?” Lance frowned a bit. 

“Right.. Well, let’s get you something to eat and tell the others that you’re fine.. We have a lot to tell you.” He took on a bit of a gentle look as he reached out to help Keith out of bed. His mind was fuzzy, but something about that look felt.. Right.. Shit did he have a crush?

* * *

_ With the room finally clear, Keith turned his back to the others and approached the pedestal that held the box. He let out a steady breath and closed his eyes for a moment. He thought of his team waiting for him on the other end of this whole fiasco. His warm bed and even warmer husband. His family.. Keith cracked his eyes open and, with slightly trembling hands, he reached out to grab the box. _

* * *

Keith woke up slowly and then all at once. His headache and his mouth felt unbelievably dry. Honestly, he can’t even recall how the hell he ended up passing out, but that was a mystery he could solve once he gained his bearings. First he needed to get water.. He stumbled to the door of his temporary room mind quietly wishing he woke up in bed with Lance and this whole past shit was just a bad dream. Shit wait what was he doing?...Oh right, water. As he shuffled down the hall, eyes squinted in the bright lights (it must be the day cycle already), he spotted a sort of familiar blurry figure.

“Lance?” He pawed at his eyes, rubbing them a bit- god his head fucking hurt- and waited for Lance to turn around. 

“Oh hey morning Kei-.. Keith?” There was a beat of silence where Lance went still before he broke out in a sprint at Keith. His eyebrows shot up, and he took a staggering step back, preparing for whatever the fuck was about to happen. 

Lance’s arms flew around his neck and it was like Keith woke up again. Being closer now and in a sort of fight or flight mode he finally realized that this Lance was  _ his _ Lance. His Lance who was his husband. His Lance who sang loudly in the showers as he washed his hair. His Lance who was currently flinging himself at Keith. Keith scooped him up, using the momentum from Lance to launch them into a spinning hug. Their lips quickly crashed together in a clumsy, and admittedly kind of painful, kiss. Keith didn’t know they were both crying until their messy kisses became wet with salty tears. Keith set Lance down and quickly reached out to hold his face, cupping his jaw. 

_ “Keith,” _ Lance crooned and tried to pull him closer as he went to pepper his face with kisses. “Baby, shit, it felt like I’d never see you again.” Tears were quickly slipping down his cheeks and he gave Keith a wobbly grin. Keith ran a hand through his hair before leaning in for another passionate kiss. He really had no words.. Not to mention his migraine was making speaking or really anything near impossible. 

“Love,  _ shit, _ my head first,” he paused for another kiss, “and more.” One last kiss and Keith broke away with a wince. “It’s killing me..” Lance nodded and tripped over his own feet as he pulled him along to go take care of the headache. He rambled as he went, though Keith couldn’t keep up with what was being said. 

As the two of them make their way to get Keith some meds and something to drink, they end up catching the attention of the others. That’s how they find themselves with Lance tucked against Keith’s side as they talk. Keith listens at first as they all talk about how his younger self handled things, and then it was Keith’s turn to bring them all down memory lane with stories of the past. Eventually though the others leave to go about their own duties, leaving just Keith and Lance..

They take their time walking back to their room, hand in hand, pausing in their conversation from time to time to lazily kiss before continuing on their way. Keith happily sighs as he settles under the covers, but Lance stays sitting up on the edge of the bed. 

“You know now that it’s finally just the two of us.. I say it’s time that we do what I mentioned before all of this.. Y’know just you, me, aaand the bottle of alien booze I swiped from Niyturn,” Lance said with a smirk. Keith smirked a bit himself and sat up. 

“You managed to get a bottle of it?” Lance looked a bit smug as he nodded, getting to his feet and heading over to their dresser. 

“Of course. Don’t underestimate your amazing, charming, dashing, lovely husband,” Lance preened as he produced the rose gold bottle the contents shimmered a bit. Keith threw him a fond look and crossed his legs in bed. 

“Well, I would love it if my amazing, lovable, absolute goof of a husband would get his ass over here with a couple glasses and that bottle.” Lance laughed and dug around for some glasses they brought from their wedding back on Earth, which they stored away from the other cups on the ship. 

“As you wish..”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> well that's a wrap folks!!! thank you so so so much for all of yall who stuck with me through this whole fic. i'm def considering posting an epilogue though we'll see. def expect there to be more fics in this au though!! i have things planned and they'll all be oneshots lmao.. but yeah so this is my first ever completed multichapter fic yayy!! 
> 
> anyway please drop a comment on the fic even if it's over or you're reading this well after i finished it. all your lovely comments (even if it's just like you saying one phrase multiple times or keysmash or whathaveyou) really gives me the motivation to continue writing. thank you so so much if you do comment!! my heart does like a billion flips when i see comments and kudos so thank you <33333


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